Automatic Exposure Control for Audio/Video Recording and Communication Devices

ABSTRACT

Automatic exposure control for audio/video (A/V) recording and communication devices in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure are provided. In one embodiment, an A/V recording and communication device is provided, comprising: a camera configured to capture image data of a foreground object within a field of view of the camera; a communication module; and a processing module comprising: a processor; and a camera application that configures the processor to: detect motion within the field of view that includes an active image region; capture image data of the field of view; detect the foreground object in the active image region and determine an external lighting level associated with the foreground object; determine at least one exposure control gain setting based on the determined external lighting level; and apply the at least one exposure control gain setting to configure the camera to capture image data focused on the foreground object.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to provisional application Ser. No.62/463,685, filed on Feb. 26, 2017, the entire contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present embodiments relate to audio/video (AN) recording andcommunication devices, including A/V recording and communicationdoorbell systems. In particular, the present embodiments relate toimprovements in the functionality of A/V recording and communicationdevices that enhance the streaming and storing of video recorded by suchdevices.

BACKGROUND

Home safety is a concern for many homeowners and renters. Those seekingto protect or monitor their homes often wish to have video and audiocommunications with visitors, for example, those visiting an externaldoor or entryway. Audio/Video (A/V) recording and communication doorbellsystems provide this functionality, and can also aid in crime detectionand prevention. For example, audio and/or video captured by an A/Vrecording and communication doorbell can be uploaded to the cloud andrecorded on a remote server. Subsequent review of the A/V footage canaid law enforcement in capturing perpetrators of home burglaries andother crimes. Further, the presence of an A/V recording andcommunication doorbell at the entrance to a home acts as a powerfuldeterrent against would-be burglars.

SUMMARY

The various embodiments of the present automatic exposure control foraudio/video recording and communication devices have several features,no single one of which is solely responsible for their desirableattributes. Without limiting the scope of the present embodiments asexpressed by the claims that follow, their more prominent features nowwill be discussed briefly. After considering this discussion, andparticularly after reading the section entitled “Detailed Description,”one will understand how the features of the present embodiments providethe advantages described herein.

One aspect of the present embodiments includes the realization that incurrent audio/video (A/V) recording and communication devices (e.g.,doorbells) other than the present embodiments, automatic exposurecontrols cannot handle multi-exposure image conditions. For example, ifa field of view of a camera includes a darker region and a brighterregion, exposure controls cannot handle more than one part of the sceneor simply the average luminance of the entire scene. With A/V recordingand communication devices, multi-exposure image conditions may be aparticular problem as many A/V recording and communication devices areplaced at a structure's entrance that may be covered, thereby requiringthe A/V recording and communication device to capture image data of aregion shaded by the covering (i.e. darker region) and a region beyondthe covering (i.e. brighter region). In another scenario, the A/Vrecording and communication device may be positioned near an externallight source, such as a porchlight, which can create relatively brightareas and relatively dark areas. In these types of lighting conditions,if exposure range is simply increased, the darker region(s) may becomebrighter but the brighter region(s) may become saturated and washed out,reducing image quality. On the other hand, if exposure range is simplydecreased, the brighter region(s) may become darker but the darkerregion(s) may become even darker, reducing image quality. Further, incurrent A/V recording and communication devices other than the presentembodiments, default exposure controls tend to focus on a center regionof the field of view, usually setting exposure controls for brightdaylight and focusing less on the boundary areas of a scene. However, itmay be more important for A/V recording and communication devices to setexposure controls to capture higher quality image data of a particularperson or object than of the entire scene. The present embodiments solvethese problems by applying exposure settings based on motion detectionand scene conditions. In some embodiments, the A/V recording andcommunication device may detect a foreground object, determine anexternal lighting level associated with the foreground object, and applyat least one exposure control gain setting to configure a camera tocapture image data focused on the foreground object. In someembodiments, the A/V recording and communication device may detect amulti-exposure condition and apply at least one dynamic resolution (DR)setting to configure the camera to capture image data corrected for themulti-exposure image condition. These and other aspects and advantagesof the present embodiments are described in further detail below.

In a first aspect, an audio/video (A/V) recording and communicationdevice is provided, comprising a camera configured to capture image dataof a foreground object within a field of view of the camera; acommunication module; and a processing module operatively connected tothe camera and to the communication module, the processing modulecomprising: a processor; and a camera application, wherein the cameraapplication configures the processor to: detect motion within the fieldof view of the camera, wherein the field of view includes an activeimage region; capture image data of the field of view, including theactive image region, using the camera; detect the foreground object inthe active image region of the field of view and determine an externallighting level associated with the foreground object; determine at leastone exposure control gain setting based on the determined externallighting level; and apply the at least one exposure control gain settingto configure the camera to capture image data focused on the foregroundobject.

An embodiment of the first aspect further comprises a motion sensorconfigured to detect the motion within the field of view of the camera.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the camera applicationfurther configures the processor to detect the motion within the fieldof view of the camera using the camera.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the camera applicationfurther configures the processor to track the foreground object withinthe field of view using the camera.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the camera applicationfurther configures the processor to determine the external lightinglevel associated with the foreground object using the image datacaptured using the camera.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the at least one exposurecontrol gain setting includes an aperture setting.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the at least one exposurecontrol gain setting includes a shutter speed setting.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the at least one exposurecontrol gain setting includes an ISO (International Organization ofStandardization) setting.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the camera applicationfurther configures the processor to determine the at least one exposurecontrol gain setting by comparing the determined external lighting levelto a predetermined range of external lighting levels.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the image data focused on theforeground object includes at least one frame that includes theforeground object in a higher image quality than found in the image datacaptured using the camera before applying the at least one auto-exposuresetting.

In a second aspect, a method for an audio/video (A/V) recording andcommunication device is provided, the audio/video (A/V) recording andcommunication device comprising a camera, a communication module, and aprocessing module operatively connected to the camera and to thecommunication module, the method comprising: detecting motion within afield of view of the camera, wherein the field of view includes anactive image region and includes a multi-exposure image condition wherethe field of view includes a first portion having a first externallighting level and a second portion having a second external lightinglevel; capturing image data of the field of view, including the activeimage region, using the camera; detecting a foreground object in theactive image region of the field of view and determining an externallighting level associated with the foreground object; determining atleast one exposure control gain setting based on the determined externallighting level; and applying the at least one exposure control gainsetting to configure the camera to capture image data focused on theforeground object.

In an embodiment of the second aspect, the A/V recoding andcommunication device further comprises a motion sensor configured todetect the motion within the field of view of the camera.

Another embodiment of the second aspect further comprises detecting themotion within the field of view of the camera using the camera.

Another embodiment of the second aspect further comprises tracking theforeground object within the field of view using the camera.

Another embodiment of the second aspect further comprises determiningthe external lighting level associated with the foreground object usingthe image data captured using the camera.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, the at least one exposurecontrol gain setting includes an aperture setting.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, the at least one exposurecontrol gain setting includes a shutter speed setting.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, the at least one exposurecontrol gain setting includes an ISO (International Organization ofStandardization) setting.

Another embodiment of the second aspect further comprises determiningthe at least one exposure control gain setting by comparing thedetermined external lighting level to a predetermined range of externallighting levels.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, the image data focused onthe foreground object includes at least one frame that includes theforeground object in a higher image quality than found in the image datacaptured using the camera before applying the at least one auto-exposuresetting.

In a third aspect, an audio/video (A/V) recording and communicationdevice is provided, comprising a camera configured to capture image dataof an object within a field of view of the camera; a communicationmodule; and a processing module operatively connected to the camera andto the communication module, the processing module comprising: aprocessor; and a camera application, wherein the camera applicationconfigures the processor to: detect motion within the field of view ofthe camera; capture test image data of the field of view using thecamera; detect a multi-exposure image condition associated with the testimage data captured using the camera; and apply at least one dynamicresolution (DR) setting to configure the camera to capture correctedimage data corrected for the multi-exposure image condition.

An embodiment of the third aspect further comprises a motion sensorconfigured to detect the motion within the field of view of the camera.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the camera applicationfurther configures the processor to detect the motion within the fieldof view of the camera using the camera.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the camera applicationfurther configures the processor to select a test frame from the testimage data and detect the multi-exposure image condition by determininga pixel distribution value associated with the test frame.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the camera applicationfurther configures the processor to apply the at least one DR setting toconfigure the camera to capture the corrected image data corrected forthe multi-exposure image condition if the pixel distribution value isless than a predetermined pixel distribution threshold.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, applying the at least one DRsetting configures the camera to capture image data having a first framewith a first exposure range and a second frame with a second exposurerange, wherein the second exposure range does not overlap with the firstexposure range.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the camera applicationfurther configures the processor to combine the first frame with thefirst exposure range and the second frame with the second exposure rangeto generate a single high-dynamic-range (HDR) frame.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the camera applicationfurther configures the processor to select a corresponding motion areain the first frame and the second frame to exclude when generating thesingle HDR frame.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, applying the at least one DRsetting configures the camera to capture image data having a referenceframe with a single exposure range.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the camera applicationfurther configures the processor to calculate an average luminance leveland a saturated pixel count corresponding to a number of saturatedpixels associated with the reference frame.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the camera applicationfurther configures the processor to determine a wide-dynamic-range (WDR)gain setting if the average luminance level is less than a predeterminedluminance threshold and the saturated pixel count is more than apredetermined saturated pixels threshold.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the camera applicationfurther configures the processor to apply the wide-dynamic-range (WDR)gain setting to configure the camera to capture WDR image data.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the camera applicationfurther configures the processor to apply a temporal noise removalfilter if the WDR image data has a background noise level above apredetermined noise threshold.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the camera applicationfurther configures the processor to reduce the temporal noise filtergain strength if the WDR image data has a motion artifact level above apredetermined artifact threshold.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the camera applicationfurther configures the processor to increase the temporal noise filtergain strength if the WDR image data has a motion artifact level below apredetermined artifact threshold.

In a fourth aspect, a method for an audio/video (A/V) recording andcommunication device is provided, the audio/video (A/V) recording andcommunication device comprising a camera, a communication module, and aprocessing module operatively connected to the camera and to thecommunication module, the method comprising: detecting motion within afield of view of the camera wherein the field of view includes amulti-exposure image condition that includes a first portion having afirst external lighting level and a second portion having a secondexternal lighting level; capturing test image data of the field of viewusing the camera; detecting the multi-exposure image conditionassociated with the image data captured using the camera; and applyingat least one dynamic resolution (DR) setting to configure the camera tocapture corrected image data corrected for the multi-exposure imagecondition.

In an embodiment of the fourth aspect, the camera further comprises amotion sensor configured to detect the motion within the field of viewof the camera.

Another embodiment of the fourth aspect further comprises detecting themotion within the field of view of the camera using the camera.

Another embodiment of the fourth aspect further comprises selecting atest frame from the test image data and detecting the multi-exposureimage condition by determining a pixel distribution value associatedwith the test frame.

Another embodiment of the fourth aspect further comprises applying theat least one DR setting to configure the camera to capture the correctedimage data corrected for the multi-exposure image condition if the pixeldistribution value is less than a predetermined pixel distributionthreshold.

In another embodiment of the fourth aspect, applying the at least one DRsetting configures the camera to capture image data having a first framewith a first exposure range and a second frame with a second exposurerange, wherein the second exposure range does not overlap with the firstexposure range.

Another embodiment of the fourth aspect further comprises combining thefirst frame with the first exposure range and the second frame with thesecond exposure range to generate a single high-dynamic-range (HDR)frame.

Another embodiment of the fourth aspect further comprises selecting acorresponding motion area in the first frame and the second frame toexclude when generating the single HDR frame.

In another embodiment of the fourth aspect, applying the at least one DRsetting configures the camera to capture image data having a referenceframe with a single exposure range.

Another embodiment of the fourth aspect further comprises calculating anaverage luminance level and a saturated pixel count corresponding to anumber of saturated pixels associated with the reference frame.

Another embodiment of the fourth aspect further comprises determining awide-dynamic-range (WDR) gain setting if the average luminance level isless than a predetermined luminance threshold and the saturated pixelcount is more than a predetermined saturated pixels threshold.

Another embodiment of the fourth aspect further comprises applying thewide-dynamic-range (WDR) gain setting to configure the camera to captureWDR image data.

Another embodiment of the fourth aspect further comprises applying atemporal noise removal filter if the WDR image data has a backgroundnoise level above a predetermined noise threshold.

Another embodiment of the fourth aspect further comprises reducing thetemporal noise filter gain strength if the WDR image data has a motionartifact level above a predetermined artifact threshold.

Another embodiment of the fourth aspect further comprises increasing thetemporal noise filter gain strength if the WDR image data has a motionartifact level below a predetermined artifact threshold.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various embodiments of the present automatic exposure control foraudio/video recording and communication devices now will be discussed indetail with an emphasis on highlighting the advantageous features. Theseembodiments depict the novel and non-obvious automatic exposure controlfor audio/video recording and communication devices shown in theaccompanying drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only. Thesedrawings include the following figures, in which like numerals indicatelike parts:

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating one embodiment of anA/V recording and communication doorbell system according to the presentembodiments;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of a process forstreaming and storing A/V content from an A/V recording andcommunication doorbell system according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating an embodiment of anA/V recording and communication doorbell system according to the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of an A/V recordingand communication doorbell according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a partially exploded front perspective view of the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell of FIG. 4 showing the coverremoved;

FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 are front perspective views of various internalcomponents of the A/V recording and communication doorbell of FIG. 4;

FIG. 10 is a right-side cross-sectional view of the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell of FIG. 4 taken through the line 10-10 in FIG. 4;

FIGS. 11-13 are rear perspective views of various internal components ofthe A/V recording and communication doorbell of FIG. 4;

FIG. 14 is a front view of an A/V recording and communication deviceaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a rear view of the A/V recording and communication device ofFIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is cross-sectional right side view of the A/V recording andcommunication device of FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is an exploded view of the A/V recording and communicationdevice of FIG. 14 and a mounting bracket;

FIG. 18 is a top view of a passive infrared sensor assembly according tovarious aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a front view of the passive infrared sensor assembly of FIG.18;

FIG. 20 is a top view of the passive infrared sensor assembly of FIG.18, illustrating the fields of view of the passive infrared sensorsaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 21 a functional block diagram of the components of the A/Vrecording and communication device of FIG. 14;

FIG. 22 is a functional block diagram illustrating one embodiment of anA/V recording and communication device according to various aspects ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an A/V recording and communicationdevice having a field of view with an external lighting level associatedwith a foreground object according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process forcapturing image data focused on a foreground object according to variousaspects of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 25 and 26 are diagrams illustrating an A/V recording andcommunication device having a field of view with differentmulti-exposure image conditions according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure;

FIGS. 27, 27-1, and 27-2 are flowcharts illustrating an embodiment of aprocess for capturing image data corrected for a multi-exposure imagecondition according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 28 is a functional block diagram of a client device on which thepresent embodiments may be implemented according to various aspects ofthe present disclosure; and

FIG. 29 is a functional block diagram of a general-purpose computingsystem on which the present embodiments may be implemented according tovarious aspects of present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description describes the present embodimentswith reference to the drawings. In the drawings, reference numbers labelelements of the present embodiments. These reference numbers arereproduced below in connection with the discussion of the correspondingdrawing features.

The embodiments of the present streaming and storing video foraudio/video recording and communication devices are described below withreference to the figures. These figures, and their written descriptions,indicate that certain components of the apparatus are formed integrally,and certain other components are formed as separate pieces. Those ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that components shown anddescribed herein as being formed integrally may in alternativeembodiments be formed as separate pieces. Those of ordinary skill in theart will further appreciate that components shown and described hereinas being formed as separate pieces may in alternative embodiments beformed integrally. Further, as used herein, the term integral describesa single unitary piece.

With reference to FIG. 1, the present embodiments include an audio/video(A/V) recording and communication doorbell 100. The A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 100 is typically located near the entrance to astructure (not shown), such as a dwelling, a business, a storagefacility, etc. The A/V recording and communication doorbell 100 includesa camera 102, a microphone 104, and a speaker 106. The camera 102 maycomprise, for example, a high definition (HD) video camera, such as onecapable of capturing video images at an image display resolution of 720por better. While not shown, the A/V recording and communication doorbell100 may also include other hardware and/or components, such as ahousing, one or more motion sensors (and/or other types of sensors), abutton, etc. The A/V recording and communication doorbell 100 mayfurther include similar componentry and/or functionality as the wirelesscommunication doorbells described in US Patent Application PublicationNos. 2015/0022620 (application Ser. No. 14/499,828) and 2015/0022618(application Ser. No. 14/334,922), both of which are incorporated hereinby reference in their entireties as if fully set forth.

With further reference to FIG. 1, the A/V recording and communicationdevice 100 communicates with a user's network 110, which may be, forexample, a wired and/or wireless network. If the user's network 110 iswireless, or includes a wireless component, the network 110 may be aWi-Fi network compatible with the IEEE 802.11 standard and/or otherwireless communication standard(s). The user's network 110 is connectedto another network 112, which may comprise, for example, the Internetand/or a public switched telephone network (PSTN). As described below,the A/V recording and communication doorbell 100 may communicate with auser's client device 114 via the user's network 110 and the network 112(Internet/PSTN). The user's client device 114 may comprise, for example,a mobile telephone (may also be referred to as a cellular telephone),such as a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or anothercommunication and/or computing device. The user's client device 114comprises a display (not shown) and related components capable ofdisplaying streaming and/or recorded video images. The user's clientdevice 114 may also comprise a speaker and related components capable ofbroadcasting streaming and/or recorded audio, and may also comprise amicrophone. The A/V recording and communication doorbell 100 may alsocommunicate with one or more remote storage device(s) 116 (may bereferred to interchangeably as “cloud storage device(s)”), one or moreservers 118, and/or a backend API (application programming interface)120 via the user's network 110 and the network 112 (Internet/PSTN).While FIG. 1 illustrates the storage device 116, the server 118, and thebackend API 120 as components separate from the network 112, it is to beunderstood that the storage device 116, the server 118, and/or thebackend API 120 may be considered to be components of the network 112.

The network 112 may be any wireless network or any wired network, or acombination thereof, configured to operatively couple theabove-mentioned modules, devices, and systems as shown in FIG. 1. Forexample, the network 112 may include one or more of the following: aPSTN (public switched telephone network), the Internet, a localintranet, a PAN (Personal Area Network), a LAN (Local Area Network), aWAN (Wide Area Network), a MAN (Metropolitan Area Network), a virtualprivate network (VPN), a storage area network (SAN), a frame relayconnection, an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) connection, asynchronous optical network (SONET) connection, a digital T1, T3, E1 orE3 line, a Digital Data Service (DDS) connection, a DSL (DigitalSubscriber Line) connection, an Ethernet connection, an ISDN (IntegratedServices Digital Network) line, a dial-up port such as a V.90, V.34, orV.34bis analog modem connection, a cable modem, an ATM (AsynchronousTransfer Mode) connection, or an FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface)or CDDI (Copper Distributed Data Interface) connection. Furthermore,communications may also include links to any of a variety of wirelessnetworks, including WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), GPRS (GeneralPacket Radio Service), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication),LTE, VoLTE, LoRaWAN, LPWAN, RPMA, LTE, Cat-“X” (e.g., LTE Cat 1, LTE Cat0, LTE CatM1, LTE Cat NB1), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), TDMA(Time Division Multiple Access), FDMA (Frequency Division MultipleAccess), and/or OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access)cellular phone networks, GNSS (global navigation satellite system, e.g.,GPS (Global Positioning System)), CDPD (cellular digital packet data),RIM (Research in Motion, Limited) duplex paging network, Bluetoothradio, or an IEEE 802.11-based radio frequency network. The network canfurther include or interface with any one or more of the following:RS-232 serial connection, IEEE-1394 (Firewire) connection, Fibre Channelconnection, IrDA (infrared) port, SCSI (Small Computer SystemsInterface) connection, USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection, or otherwired or wireless, digital or analog, interface or connection, mesh orDigi® networking.

According to one or more aspects of the present embodiments, when aperson (may be referred to interchangeably as “visitor”) arrives at theA/V recording and communication doorbell 100, the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 100 detects the visitor's presence and beginscapturing video images within a field of view of the camera 102. The A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 100 may also capture audio throughthe microphone 104. The A/V recording and communication doorbell 100 maydetect the visitor's presence by detecting motion using the camera 102and/or a motion sensor, and/or by detecting that the visitor hasdepressed the button on the A/V recording and communication doorbell100.

In response to the detection of the visitor, the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 100 sends an alert to the user's client device114 (FIG. 1) via the user's network 110 and the network 112. The A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 100 also sends streaming video, andmay also send streaming audio, to the user's client device 114. If theuser answers the alert, two-way audio communication may then occurbetween the visitor and the user through the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 100 and the user's client device 114. The usermay view the visitor throughout the duration of the call, but thevisitor cannot see the user (unless the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 100 includes a display, which it may in some embodiments).

The video images captured by the camera 102 of the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 100 (and the audio captured by the microphone104) may be uploaded to the cloud and recorded on the remote storagedevice 116 (FIG. 1). In some embodiments, the video and/or audio may berecorded on the remote storage device 116 even if the user chooses toignore the alert sent to his or her client device 114.

With further reference to FIG. 1, the system may further comprise abackend API 120 including one or more components. A backend API(application programming interface) may comprise, for example, a server(e.g., a real server, or a virtual machine, or a machine running in acloud infrastructure as a service), or multiple servers networkedtogether, exposing at least one API to client(s) accessing it. Theseservers may include components such as application servers (e.g.software servers), depending upon what other components are included,such as a caching layer, or database layers, or other components. Abackend API may, for example, comprise many such applications, each ofwhich communicate with one another using their public APIs. In someembodiments, the API backend may hold the bulk of the user data andoffer the user management capabilities, leaving the clients to have avery limited state.

The backend API 120 illustrated in FIG. 1 may include one or more APIs.An API is a set of routines, protocols, and tools for building softwareand applications. An API expresses a software component in terms of itsoperations, inputs, outputs, and underlying types, and definesfunctionalities that are independent of their respectiveimplementations, which allows definitions and implementations to varywithout compromising the interface. Advantageously, an API may provide aprogrammer with access to an application's functionality without theprogrammer needing to modify the application itself, or even understandhow the application works. An API may be for a web-based system, anoperating system, or a database system, and it provides facilities todevelop applications for that system using a given programming language.In addition to accessing databases or computer hardware like hard diskdrives or video cards, an API can ease the work of programming GUIcomponents. For example, an API can facilitate integration of newfeatures into existing applications (a so-called “plug-in API”). An APIcan also assist otherwise distinct applications with sharing data, whichcan help to integrate and enhance the functionalities of theapplications.

The backend API 120 illustrated in FIG. 1 may further include one ormore services (also referred to as network services). A network serviceis an application that provides data storage, manipulation,presentation, communication, and/or other capability. Network servicesare often implemented using a client-server architecture based onapplication-layer network protocols. Each service may be provided by aserver component running on one or more computers (such as a dedicatedserver computer offering multiple services) and accessed via a networkby client components running on other devices. However, the client andserver components can both be run on the same machine. Clients andservers may have a user interface, and sometimes other hardwareassociated with them.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process for streaming and storingA/V content from an A/V recording and communication doorbell systemaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure. At block B200,the A/V recording and communication doorbell 100 detects the visitor'spresence and begins capturing video images within a field of view of thecamera 102. The A/V recording and communication doorbell 100 may alsocapture audio through the microphone 104. As described above, the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 100 may detect the visitor'spresence by detecting motion using the camera 102 and/or a motionsensor, and/or by detecting that the visitor has depressed the button onthe A/V recording and communication doorbell 100.

At block B202, a communication module of the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 100 sends a connection request, via the user'snetwork 110 and the network 112, to a device in the network 112. Forexample, the network device to which the request is sent may be a serversuch as the server 118. The server 118 may comprise a computer programand/or a machine that waits for requests from other machines or software(clients) and responds to them. A server typically processes data. Onepurpose of a server is to share data and/or hardware and/or softwareresources among clients. This architecture is called the client-servermodel. The clients may run on the same computer or may connect to theserver over a network. Examples of computing servers include databaseservers, file servers, mail servers, print servers, web servers, gameservers, and application servers. The term server may be construedbroadly to include any computerized process that shares a resource toone or more client processes.

In response to the request, at block B204 the network device may connectthe A/V recording and communication doorbell 100 to the user's clientdevice 114 through the user's network 110 and the network 112. At blockB206, the A/V recording and communication doorbell 100 may recordavailable audio and/or video data using the camera 102, the microphone104, and/or any other sensor available. At block B208, the audio and/orvideo data is transmitted (streamed) from the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 100 to the user's client device 114 via theuser's network 110 and the network 112. At block B210, the user mayreceive a notification on his or her client device 114 with a prompt toeither accept or deny the call.

At block B212, the process determines whether the user has accepted ordenied the call. If the user denies the notification, then the processadvances to block B214, where the audio and/or video data is recordedand stored at a cloud server. The session then ends at block B216 andthe connection between the A/V recording and communication doorbell 100and the user's client device 114 is terminated. If, however, the useraccepts the notification, then at block B218 the user communicates withthe visitor through the user's client device 114 while audio and/orvideo data captured by the camera 102, the microphone 104, and/or othersensors is streamed to the user's client device 114. At the end of thecall, the user may terminate the connection between the user's clientdevice 114 and the A/V recording and communication doorbell 100 and thesession ends at block B216. In some embodiments, the audio and/or videodata may be recorded and stored at a cloud server (block B214) even ifthe user accepts the notification and communicates with the visitorthrough the user's client device 114.

Many of today's homes include a wired doorbell system that does not haveA/V communication capabilities. Instead, standard wired doorbell systemsinclude a button outside the home next to the front door. The buttonactivates a signaling device (such as a bell or a buzzer) inside thebuilding. Pressing the doorbell button momentarily closes the doorbellcircuit, which may be, for example, a single-pole, single-throw (SPST)push button switch. One terminal of the button is wired to a terminal ona transformer. The transformer steps down the 120-volt or 240-volthousehold AC electrical power to a lower voltage, typically 16 to 24volts. Another terminal on the transformer is wired to a terminal on thesignaling device. Another terminal on the signaling device is wired tothe other terminal on the button. A common signaling device includes twoflat metal bar resonators, which are struck by plungers operated by twosolenoids. The flat bars are tuned to different notes. When the doorbellbutton is pressed, the first solenoid's plunger strikes one of the bars,and when the button is released, a spring on the plunger pushes theplunger up, causing it to strike the other bar, creating a two-tonesound (“ding-dong”).

Many current A/V recording and communication doorbell systems (otherthan the present embodiments) are incompatible with existing wireddoorbell systems of the type described in the preceding paragraph. Onereason for this incompatibility is that the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell draws an amount of power from the household ACelectrical power supply that is above the threshold necessary forcausing the signaling device to sound. The A/V recording andcommunication doorbell thus causes frequent inadvertent sounding of thesignaling device, which is not only bothersome to the home'soccupant(s), but also undermines the usefulness of the doorbell. Thepresent embodiments solve this problem by limiting the power consumptionof the A/V recording and communication doorbell to an amount that isbelow the threshold necessary for causing the signaling device to sound.Embodiments of the present A/V recording and communication doorbell canthus be connected to the existing household AC power supply and theexisting signaling device without causing inadvertent sounding of thesignaling device.

Several advantages flow from the ability of the present embodiments tobe connected to the existing household AC power supply. For example, thecamera of the present A/V recording and communication doorbell can bepowered on continuously. In a typical battery-powered A/V recording andcommunication doorbell, the camera is powered on only part of the timeso that the battery does not drain too rapidly. The present embodiments,by contrast, do not rely on a battery as a primary (or sole) powersupply, and are thus able to keep the camera powered on continuously.Because the camera is able to be powered on continuously, it can alwaysbe recording, and recorded footage can be continuously stored in arolling buffer or sliding window. In some embodiments, about 10-15seconds of recorded footage can be continuously stored in the rollingbuffer or sliding window. Also because the camera is able to be poweredon continuously, it can be used for motion detection, thus eliminatingany need for a separate motion detection device, such as a passiveinfrared sensor (PIR). Eliminating the PIR simplifies the design of theA/V recording and communication doorbell and enables the doorbell to bemade more compact. Also because the camera is able to be powered oncontinuously, it can be used as a light detector for use in controllingthe current state of the IR cut filter and turning the IR LED on andoff. Using the camera as a light detector eliminates any need for aseparate light detector, thereby further simplifying the design of theA/V recording and communication doorbell and enabling the doorbell to bemade even more compact.

FIGS. 3-13 illustrate one embodiment of a low-power-consumption A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 130 according to various aspects ofthe present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagramillustrating various components of the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 and their relationships to one another. For example, theA/V recording and communication doorbell 130 includes a pair ofterminals 131, 132 configured to be connected to a source of external AC(alternating-current) power, such as a household AC power supply 134(may also be referred to as AC mains). The AC power 134 may have avoltage in the range of 16-24 VAC, for example. The incoming AC power134 may be converted to DC (direct-current) by an AC/DC rectifier 136.An output of the AC/DC rectifier 136 may be connected to an input of aDC/DC converter 138, which may step down the voltage from the output ofthe AC/DC rectifier 136 from 16-24 VDC to a lower voltage of about 5VDC, for example. In various embodiments, the output of the DC/DCconverter 138 may be in a range of from about 2.5 V to about 7.5 V, forexample.

With further reference to FIG. 3, the output of the DC/DC converter 138is connected to a power manager 140, which may comprise an integratedcircuit including a processor core, memory, and/or programmableinput/output peripherals. In one non-limiting example, the power manager140 may be an off-the-shelf component, such as the BQ24773 chipmanufactured by Texas Instruments. As described in detail below, thepower manager 140 controls, among other things, an amount of power drawnfrom the external power supply 134, as well as an amount of supplementalpower drawn from a battery 142, to power the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130. The power manager 140 may, for example,limit the amount of power drawn from the external power supply 134 sothat a threshold power draw is not exceeded. In one non-limitingexample, the threshold power, as measured at the output of the DC/DCconverter 138, may be equal to 1.4 A. The power manager 140 may alsocontrol an amount of power drawn from the external power supply 134 anddirected to the battery 142 for recharging of the battery 142. An outputof the power manager 140 is connected to a power sequencer 144, whichcontrols a sequence of power delivery to other components of the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 130, including a communicationmodule 146, a front button 148, a microphone 150, a speaker driver 151,a speaker 152, an audio CODEC (Coder-DECoder) 153, a camera 154, aninfrared (IR) light source 156, an IR cut filter 158, a processor 160(may also be referred to as a controller 160), a plurality of lightindicators 162, and a controller 164 for the light indicators 162. Eachof these components is described in detail below. The power sequencer144 may comprise an integrated circuit including a processor core,memory, and/or programmable input/output peripherals. In onenon-limiting example, the power sequencer 144 may be an off-the-shelfcomponent, such as the RT5024 chip manufactured by Richtek.

With further reference to FIG. 3, the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 further comprises an electronic switch 166 that closes whenthe front button 148 is depressed. When the electronic switch 166closes, power from the AC power source 134 is diverted through asignaling device 168 that is external to the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130 to cause the signaling device 168 to emit asound, as further described below. In one non-limiting example, theelectronic switch 166 may be a triac device. The A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130 further comprises a reset button 170configured to initiate a hard reset of the processor 160, as furtherdescribed below.

With further reference to FIG. 3, the processor 160 may perform dataprocessing and various other functions, as described below. Theprocessor 160 may comprise an integrated circuit including a processorcore, memory 172, non-volatile memory 174, and/or programmableinput/output peripherals (not shown). The memory 172 may comprise, forexample, DDR3 (double data rate type three synchronous dynamicrandom-access memory). The non-volatile memory 174 may comprise, forexample, NAND flash memory. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, thememory 172 and the non-volatile memory 174 are illustrated within thebox representing the processor 160. It is to be understood that theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 is merely an example, and in someembodiments the memory 172 and/or the non-volatile memory 174 are notnecessarily physically incorporated with the processor 160. The memory172 and/or the non-volatile memory 174, regardless of their physicallocation, may be shared by one or more other components (in addition tothe processor 160) of the present A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130.

The transfer of digital audio between the user and a visitor may becompressed and decompressed using the audio CODEC 153, which isoperatively coupled to the processor 160. When the visitor speaks, audiofrom the visitor is compressed by the audio CODEC 153, digital audiodata is sent through the communication module 146 to the network 112 viathe user's network 110, routed by the server 118 and delivered to theuser's client device 114. When the user speaks, after being transferredthrough the network 112, the user's network 110, and the communicationmodule 146, the digital audio data is decompressed by the audio CODEC153 and emitted to the visitor through the speaker 152, which is drivenby the speaker driver 151.

With further reference to FIG. 3, some of the present embodiments mayinclude a shunt 176 connected in parallel with the signaling device 168.The shunt 176 facilitates the ability of the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130 to draw power from the AC power source 134without inadvertently triggering the signaling device 168. The shunt176, during normal standby operation, presents a relatively lowelectrical impedance, such as a few ohms, across the terminals of thesignaling device 168. Most of the current drawn by the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130, therefore, flows through the shunt 176, andnot through the signaling device 168. The shunt 176, however, containselectronic circuitry (described below) that switches the shunt 176between a state of low impedance, such as a few ohms, for example, and astate of high impedance, such as >1K ohms, for example. When the frontbutton 148 of the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130 ispressed, the electronic switch 166 closes, causing the voltage from theAC power source 134 to be impressed mostly across the shunt 176 and thesignaling device 168 in parallel, while a small amount of voltage, suchas about 1V, is impressed across the electronic switch 166. Thecircuitry in the shunt 176 senses this voltage, and switches the shunt176 to the high impedance state, so that power from the AC power source134 is diverted through the signaling device 168. The diverted AC power134 is above the threshold necessary to cause the signaling device 168to emit a sound. Pressing the front button 148 of the doorbell 130therefore causes the signaling device 168 to “ring,” alerting anyperson(s) within the structure to which the doorbell 130 is mounted thatthere is a visitor at the front door (or at another locationcorresponding to the location of the doorbell 130). In one non-limitingexample, the electronic switch 166 may be a triac device.

With reference to FIGS. 4-6, the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 further comprises a housing 178 having an enclosure 180(FIG. 6), a back plate 182 secured to the rear of the enclosure 180, anda shell 184 overlying the enclosure 180. With reference to FIG. 6, theshell 184 includes a recess 186 that is sized and shaped to receive theenclosure 180 in a close fitting engagement, such that outer surfaces ofthe enclosure 180 abut conforming inner surfaces of the shell 184.Exterior dimensions of the enclosure 180 may be closely matched withinterior dimensions of the shell 184 such that friction maintains theshell 184 about the enclosure 180. Alternatively, or in addition, theenclosure 180 and/or the shell 184 may include mating features 188, suchas one or more tabs, grooves, slots, posts, etc. to assist inmaintaining the shell 184 about the enclosure 180. The back plate 182 issized and shaped such that the edges of the back plate 182 extendoutward from the edges of the enclosure 180, thereby creating a lip 190against which the shell 184 abuts when the shell 184 is mated with theenclosure 180, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. In some embodiments, multipleshells 184 in different colors may be provided so that the end user maycustomize the appearance of his or her A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130. For example, the A/V recording and communication doorbell130 may be packaged and sold with multiple shells 184 in differentcolors in the same package.

With reference to FIG. 4, a front surface of the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130 includes the button 148 (may also be referredto as front button 148, FIG. 3), which is operatively connected to theprocessor 160. In a process similar to that described above withreference to FIG. 2, when a visitor presses the front button 148, analert may be sent to the user's client device 114 to notify the userthat someone is at his or her front door (or at another locationcorresponding to the location of the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130). With further reference to FIG. 4, the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130 further includes the camera 154, which isoperatively connected to the processor 160, and which is located behinda shield 192. As described in detail below, the camera 154 is configuredto capture video images from within its field of view. Those videoimages can be streamed to the user's client device 114 and/or uploadedto a remote network device for later viewing according to a processsimilar to that described above with reference to FIG. 2.

With reference to FIG. 5, a pair of terminal screws 194 extends throughthe back plate 182. The terminal screws 194 are connected at their innerends to the terminals 131, 132 (FIG. 3) within the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130. The terminal screws 194 are configured toreceive electrical wires to connect to the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130, through the terminals 131, 132, to thehousehold AC power supply 134 of the structure on which the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 130 is mounted. In the illustratedembodiment, the terminal screws 194 are located within a recessedportion 196 of the rear surface 198 of the back plate 182 so that theterminal screws 194 do not protrude from the outer envelope of the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 130. The A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130 can thus be mounted to a mounting surfacewith the rear surface 198 of the back plate 182 abutting the mountingsurface. The back plate 182 includes apertures 200 adjacent to its upperand lower edges to accommodate mounting hardware, such as screws (notshown), for securing the back plate 182 (and thus the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130) to the mounting surface. With reference toFIG. 6, the enclosure 180 includes corresponding apertures 202 adjacentits upper and lower edges that align with the apertures 200 in the backplate 182 to accommodate the mounting hardware. In certain embodiments,the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130 may include a mountingplate or bracket (not shown) to facilitate securing the A/V recordingand communication doorbell 130 to the mounting surface.

With further reference to FIG. 6, the shell 184 includes a centralopening 204 in a front surface. The central opening 204 is sized andshaped to accommodate the shield 192. In the illustrated embodiment, theshield 192 is substantially rectangular, and includes a central opening206 through which the front button 148 protrudes. The shield 192 definesa plane parallel to and in front of a front surface 208 of the enclosure180. When the shell 184 is mated with the enclosure 180, as shown inFIGS. 4 and 10, the shield 192 resides within the central opening 204 ofthe shell 184 such that a front surface 210 of the shield 192 issubstantially flush with a front surface 212 of the shell 184 and thereis little or no gap (FIG. 4) between the outer edges of the shield 192and the inner edges of the central opening 204 in the shell 184.

With further reference to FIG. 6, the shield 192 includes an upperportion 214 (located above and to the sides of the front button 148) anda lower portion 216 (located below and to the sides of the front button148). The upper and lower portions 214, 216 of the shield 192 may beseparate pieces, and may comprise different materials. The upper portion214 of the shield 192 may be transparent or translucent so that it doesnot interfere with the field of view of the camera 154. For example, incertain embodiments the upper portion 214 of the shield 192 may compriseglass or plastic. As described in detail below, the microphone 150,which is operatively connected to the processor 160, is located behindthe upper portion 214 of the shield 192. The upper portion 214,therefore, may include an opening 218 that facilitates the passage ofsound through the shield 192 so that the microphone 150 is better ableto pick up sounds from the area around the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130.

The lower portion 216 of the shield 192 may comprise a material that issubstantially transparent to infrared (IR) light, but partially ormostly opaque with respect to light in the visible spectrum. Forexample, in certain embodiments the lower portion 216 of the shield 192may comprise a plastic, such as polycarbonate. The lower portion 216 ofthe shield 192, therefore, does not interfere with transmission of IRlight from the IR light source 156, which is located behind the lowerportion 216. As described in detail below, the IR light source 156 andthe IR cut filter 158, which are both operatively connected to theprocessor 160, facilitate “night vision” functionality of the camera154.

The upper portion 214 and/or the lower portion 216 of the shield 192 mayabut an underlying cover 220 (FIG. 10), which may be integral with theenclosure 180 or may be a separate piece. The cover 220, which may beopaque, may include a first opening 222 corresponding to the location ofthe camera 154, a second opening (not shown) corresponding to thelocation of the microphone 150 and the opening 218 in the upper portion214 of the shield 192, and a third opening (not shown) corresponding tothe location of the IR light source 156.

FIGS. 7-10 illustrate various internal components of the A/V recordingand communication doorbell 130. FIGS. 7-9 are front perspective views ofthe doorbell 130 with the shell 184 and the enclosure 180 removed, whileFIG. 10 is a right-side cross-sectional view of the doorbell 130 takenthrough the line 10-10 in FIG. 4. With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, theA/V recording and communication doorbell 130 further comprises a mainprinted circuit board (PCB) 224 and a front PCB 226. With reference toFIG. 8, the front PCB 226 comprises a button actuator 228. Withreference to FIGS. 7, 8, and 10, the front button 148 is located infront of the button actuator 228. The front button 148 includes a stem230 (FIG. 10) that extends into the housing 178 to contact the buttonactuator 228. When the front button 148 is pressed, the stem 230depresses the button actuator 228, thereby closing the electronic switch166 (FIG. 8), as described below.

With reference to FIG. 8, the front PCB 226 further comprises the lightindicators 162, which may illuminate when the front button 148 of thedoorbell 130 is pressed. In the illustrated embodiment, the lightindicators 162 comprise light-emitting diodes (LEDs 162) that aresurface mounted to the front surface of the front PCB 226 and arearranged in a circle around the button actuator 228. The presentembodiments are not limited to the light indicators 162 being LEDs, andin alternative embodiments the light indicators 162 may comprise anyother type of light-emitting device. The present embodiments are alsonot limited by the number of light indicators 162 shown in FIG. 8, norby the pattern in which they are arranged.

With reference to FIG. 7, the doorbell 130 further comprises a lightpipe 232. The light pipe 232 is a transparent or translucent ring thatencircles the front button 148. With reference to FIG. 4, the light pipe232 resides in an annular space between the front button 148 and thecentral opening 206 in the shield 192, with a front surface 234 of thelight pipe 232 being substantially flush with the front surface 210 ofthe shield 192. With reference to FIGS. 7 and 10, a rear portion oflight pipe 232 includes a plurality of posts 236 whose positionscorrespond to the positions of the LEDs 162. When the LEDs 162 areilluminated, light is transmitted through the posts 236 and the body ofthe light pipe 232 so that the light is visible at the front surface 234of the light pipe 232. The LEDs 162 and the light pipe 232 thus providea ring of illumination around the front button 148. The light pipe 232may comprise a plastic, for example, or any other suitable materialcapable of transmitting light.

The LEDs 162 and the light pipe 232 may function as visual indicatorsfor a visitor and/or a user. For example, the LEDs 162 may illuminateupon activation or stay illuminated continuously. In one aspect, theLEDs 162 may change color to indicate that the front button 148 has beenpressed. The LEDs 162 may also indicate that the battery 142 needsrecharging, or that the battery 142 is currently being charged, or thatcharging of the battery 142 has been completed. The LEDs 162 mayindicate that a connection to the user's wireless network is good,limited, poor, or not connected. The LEDs 162 may be used to guide theuser through setup or installation steps using visual cues, potentiallycoupled with audio cues emitted from the speaker 152.

With further reference to FIG. 7, the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 further comprises a rechargeable battery 142. As describedin further detail below, the A/V recording and communication doorbell130 is connected to an external power source 134 (FIG. 3), such as ACmains. The A/V recording and communication doorbell 130 is primarilypowered by the external power source 134, but may also draw power fromthe rechargeable battery 142 so as not to exceed a threshold amount ofpower from the external power source 134, to thereby avoid inadvertentlysounding the signaling device 168. With reference to FIG. 3, the battery142 is operatively connected to the power manager 140. As describedbelow, the power manager 140 controls an amount of power drawn from thebattery 142 to supplement the power drawn from the external AC powersource 134 to power the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130when supplemental power is needed. The power manager 140 also controlsrecharging of the battery 142 using power drawn from the external powersource 134. The battery 142 may comprise, for example, a lithium-ionbattery, or any other type of rechargeable battery.

With further reference to FIG. 7, the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 further comprises the camera 154. The camera 154 is coupledto a front surface of the front PCB 226, and includes a lens 238 and animaging processor 240 (FIG. 9). The camera lens 238 may be a lenscapable of focusing light into the camera 154 so that clear images maybe captured. The camera 154 may comprise, for example, a high definition(HD) video camera, such as one capable of capturing video images at animage display resolution of 720p or better. In certain of the presentembodiments, the camera 154 may be used to detect motion within itsfield of view, as described below.

With further reference to FIG. 7, the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 further comprises an infrared (IR) light source 242. In theillustrated embodiment, the IR light source 242 comprises an IRlight-emitting diode (LED) 242 coupled to an IR LED printed circuitboard (PCB) 244. In alternative embodiments, the IR LED 242 may notcomprise a separate PCB 244, and may, for example, be coupled to thefront PCB 226.

With reference to FIGS. 7 and 10, the IR LED PCB 244 is located belowthe front button 148 (FIG. 7) and behind the lower portion 216 of theshield 192 (FIG. 10). As described above, the lower portion 216 of theshield 192 is transparent to IR light, but may be opaque with respect tolight in the visible spectrum.

The IR LED 242 may be triggered to activate when a low level of ambientlight is detected. When activated, IR light emitted from the IR LED 242illuminates the camera 154's field of view. The camera 154, which may beconfigured to detect IR light, may then capture the IR light emitted bythe IR LED 242 as it reflects off objects within the camera 154's fieldof view, so that the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130 canclearly capture images at night (may be referred to as “night vision”).

With reference to FIG. 9, the A/V recording and communication doorbell130 further comprises an IR cut filter 158. The IR cut filter 158 is amechanical shutter that can be selectively positioned between the lens238 and the image sensor of the camera 154. During daylight hours, orwhenever there is a sufficient amount of ambient light, the IR cutfilter 158 is positioned between the lens 238 and the image sensor tofilter out IR light so that it does not distort the colors of images asthe human eye sees them. During nighttime hours, or whenever there islittle to no ambient light, the IR cut filter 158 is withdrawn from thespace between the lens 238 and the image sensor, so that the camera 154is sensitive to IR light (“night vision”). In some embodiments, thecamera 154 acts as a light detector for use in controlling the currentstate of the IR cut filter 158 and turning the IR LED 242 on and off.Using the camera 154 as a light detector is facilitated in someembodiments by the fact that the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 is powered by a connection to AC mains, and the camera 154,therefore, is always powered on. In other embodiments, however, the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 130 may include a light sensorseparate from the camera 154 for use in controlling the IR cut filter158 and the IR LED 242.

With reference back to FIG. 6, the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 further comprises a reset button 170. The reset button 170contacts a reset button actuator 246 (FIG. 7) coupled to the front PCB226. When the reset button 170 is pressed, it may contact the resetbutton actuator 246, which may trigger the erasing of any data stored atthe non-volatile memory 174 and/or at the memory 172 (FIG. 3), and/ormay trigger a reboot of the processor 160.

FIGS. 11-13 further illustrate internal components of the A/V recordingand communication doorbell 130. FIGS. 11-13 are rear perspective viewsof the doorbell 130 with the back plate 182 and additional componentsremoved. For example, in FIG. 11 the back plate 182 is removed, while inFIG. 12 the back plate 182 and the main PCB 224 are removed, and in FIG.13 the back plate 182, the main PCB 224, and the front PCB 226 areremoved. With reference to FIG. 11, several components are coupled tothe rear surface of the main PCB 224, including the communication module146, the processor 160, memory 172, and non-volatile memory 174. Thefunctions of each of these components are described below. Withreference to FIG. 12, several components are coupled to the rear surfaceof the front PCB 226, including the power manager 140, the powersequencer 144, the AC/DC rectifier 136, the DC/DC converter 138, and thecontroller 164 for the light indicators 162. The functions of each ofthese components are also described below. With reference to FIG. 13,several components are visible within the enclosure 180, including themicrophone 150, a speaker chamber 248 (in which the speaker 152 islocated), and an antenna 250 for the communication module 146. Thefunctions of each of these components are also described below.

With reference to FIG. 7, the antenna 250 is coupled to the frontsurface of the main PCB 224 and operatively connected to thecommunication module 146, which is coupled to the rear surface of themain PCB 224 (FIG. 11). The microphone 150, which may also be coupled tothe front surface of the main PCB 224, is located near the opening 218(FIG. 4) in the upper portion 214 of the shield 192 so that soundsemanating from the area around the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 130 can pass through the opening 218 and be detected by themicrophone 150. With reference to FIG. 13, the speaker chamber 248 islocated near the bottom of the enclosure 180. The speaker chamber 248comprises a hollow enclosure in which the speaker 152 is located. Thehollow speaker chamber 248 amplifies the sounds made by the speaker 152so that they can be better heard by a visitor in the area near the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell 130. With reference to FIGS. 5 and13, the lower surface 252 of the shell 184 and the lower surface (notshown) of the enclosure 180 may include an acoustical opening 254through which the sounds made by the speaker 152 can pass so that theycan be better heard by a visitor in the area near the A/V recording andcommunication doorbell 130. In the illustrated embodiment, theacoustical opening 254 is shaped generally as a rectangle having alength extending substantially across the lower surface 252 of the shell184 (and also the enclosure 180). The illustrated shape is, however,just one example. With reference to FIG. 5, the lower surface 252 of theshell 184 may further include an opening 256 for receiving a securityscrew (not shown). The security screw may extend through the opening 256and into a similarly located opening in the enclosure 180 to secure theshell 184 to the enclosure 180. If the doorbell 130 is mounted to amounting bracket (not shown), the security screw may also maintain thedoorbell 130 on the mounting bracket.

With reference to FIG. 13, the A/V recording and communication doorbell130 may further include a battery heater 258. The present A/V recordingand communication doorbell 130 is configured for outdoor use, includingin cold climates. Cold temperatures, however, can cause negativeperformance issues for rechargeable batteries, such as reduced energycapacity, increased internal resistance, reduced ability to chargewithout damage, and reduced ability to supply load current. The batteryheater 258 helps to keep the rechargeable battery 142 warm in order toreduce or eliminate the foregoing negative performance issues. In theillustrated embodiment, the battery heater 258 comprises a substantiallyflat, thin sheet abutting a side surface of the rechargeable battery142. The battery heater 258 may comprise, for example, an electricallyresistive heating element that produces heat when electrical current ispassed through it. The battery heater 258 may thus be operativelycoupled to the power manager 140 and/or the power sequencer 144 (FIG.12). In some embodiments, the rechargeable battery 142 may include athermally sensitive resistor (“thermistor,” not shown) operativelyconnected to the processor 160 so that the battery 142's temperature canbe monitored and the amount of power supplied to the battery heater 258can be adaptively controlled to keep the rechargeable battery 142 withina desired temperature range.

As described above, the present embodiments advantageously limit thepower consumption of the A/V recording and communication doorbell to anamount that is below the threshold necessary for causing the signalingdevice to sound (except when the front button of the doorbell ispressed). The present A/V recording and communication doorbell can thusbe connected to the existing household AC power supply and the existingsignaling device without causing inadvertent sounding of the signalingdevice.

Several advantages flow from the ability of the present embodiments tobe connected to the existing household AC power supply. For example, thecamera of the present A/V recording and communication doorbell can bepowered on continuously. In a typical battery-powered A/V recording andcommunication doorbell, the camera is powered on only part of the timeso that the battery does not drain too rapidly. The present embodiments,by contrast, do not rely on a battery as a primary (or sole) powersupply, and are thus able to keep the camera powered on continuously.Because the camera is able to be powered on continuously, it can alwaysbe recording, and recorded footage can be continuously stored in arolling buffer or sliding window. In some embodiments, about 10-15seconds of recorded footage can be continuously stored in the rollingbuffer or sliding window. Also because the camera is able to be poweredon continuously, it can be used for motion detection, thus eliminatingany need for a separate motion detection device, such as a passiveinfrared sensor (PIR). Eliminating the PIR simplifies the design of theA/V recording and communication doorbell and enables the doorbell to bemade more compact, although in some alternative embodiments the doorbellmay include one or more PIRs and/or other motion detectors, heat sourcedetectors, etc. Also because the camera is able to be powered oncontinuously, it can be used as a light detector for use in controllingthe current state of the IR cut filter and turning the IR LED on andoff. Using the camera as a light detector eliminates any need for aseparate light detector, thereby further simplifying the design of theA/V recording and communication doorbell and enabling the doorbell to bemade even more compact, although in some alternative embodiments thedoorbell may include a separate light detector.

FIGS. 14-18 illustrate another embodiment of a wireless audio/video(A/V) communication doorbell 330 according to an aspect of presentembodiments. FIG. 14 is a front view, FIG. 15 is a rear view, FIG. 16 isa right-side cross-sectional view, and FIG. 17 is an exploded view ofthe doorbell 330 and a mounting bracket 337. As described below, thedoorbell 330 is configured to be connected to an external power source,such as household wiring, but is also configured to be powered by anon-board rechargeable battery instead of, or in addition to, theexternal power source.

The doorbell 330 includes a faceplate 335 mounted to a back plate 339(FIG. 15). With reference to FIG. 16, the faceplate 335 has asubstantially flat profile. The faceplate 335 may comprise any suitablematerial, including, without limitation, metals, such as brushedaluminum or stainless steel, metal alloys, or plastics. The faceplate335 protects the internal contents of the doorbell 330 and serves as anexterior front surface of the doorbell 330.

With reference to FIG. 14, the faceplate 335 includes a button 333 and alight pipe 336. The button 333 and the light pipe 336 may have variousprofiles that may or may not match the profile of the faceplate 335. Thelight pipe 336 may comprise any suitable material, including, withoutlimitation, transparent plastic, that is capable of allowing lightproduced within the doorbell 330 to pass through. The light may beproduced by one or more light-emitting components, such aslight-emitting diodes (LED's), contained within the doorbell 330, asfurther described below. The button 333 may make contact with a buttonactuator (not shown) located within the doorbell 330 when the button 333is pressed by a visitor. When pressed, the button 333 may trigger one ormore functions of the doorbell 330, as further described below.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the doorbell 330 further includes anenclosure 331 that engages the faceplate 335. In the illustratedembodiment, the enclosure 331 abuts an upper edge 335T (FIG. 14) of thefaceplate 335, but in alternative embodiments one or more gaps betweenthe enclosure 331 and the faceplate 335 may facilitate the passage ofsound and/or light through the doorbell 330. The enclosure 331 maycomprise any suitable material, but in some embodiments the material ofthe enclosure 331 preferably permits infrared light to pass through frominside the doorbell 330 to the environment and vice versa. The doorbell330 further includes a lens 332. In some embodiments, the lens maycomprise a Fresnel lens, which may be patterned to deflect incominglight into one or more infrared sensors located within the doorbell 330.The doorbell 330 further includes a camera 334, which captures videodata when activated, as described below.

FIG. 15 is a rear view of the doorbell 330, according to an aspect ofthe present embodiments. As illustrated, the enclosure 331 may extendfrom the front of the doorbell 330 around to the back thereof and mayfit snugly around a lip of the back plate 339. The back plate 339 maycomprise any suitable material, including, without limitation, metals,such as brushed aluminum or stainless steel, metal alloys, or plastics.The back plate 339 protects the internal contents of the doorbell 330and serves as an exterior rear surface of the doorbell 330. Thefaceplate 335 may extend from the front of the doorbell 330 and at leastpartially wrap around the back plate 339, thereby allowing a coupledconnection between the faceplate 335 and the back plate 339. The backplate 339 may have indentations in its structure to facilitate thecoupling.

With further reference to FIG. 15, spring contacts 340 may provide powerto the doorbell 330 when mated with other conductive contacts connectedto a power source. The spring contacts 340 may comprise any suitableconductive material, including, without limitation, copper, and may becapable of deflecting when contacted by an inward force, for example theinsertion of a mating element. The doorbell 330 further comprises aconnector 360, such as a micro-USB or other connector, whereby powerand/or data may be supplied to and from the components within thedoorbell 330. A reset button 359 may be located on the back plate 339,and may make contact with a button actuator (not shown) located withinthe doorbell 330 when the reset button 359 is pressed. When the resetbutton 359 is pressed, it may trigger one or more functions, asdescribed below.

FIG. 16 is a right side cross-sectional view of the doorbell 330 withoutthe mounting bracket 337. In the illustrated embodiment, the lens 332 issubstantially coplanar with the front surface 331F of the enclosure 331.In alternative embodiments, the lens 332 may be recessed within theenclosure 331 or may protrude outward from the enclosure 331. The camera334 is coupled to a camera printed circuit board (PCB) 347, and a lens334 a of the camera 334 protrudes through an opening in the enclosure331. The camera lens 334 a may be a lens capable of focusing light intothe camera 334 so that clear images may be taken.

The camera PCB 347 may be secured within the doorbell with any suitablefasteners, such as screws, or interference connections, adhesives, etc.The camera PCB 347 comprises various components that enable thefunctionality of the camera 334 of the doorbell 330, as described below.Infrared light-emitting components, such as infrared LED's 368, arecoupled to the camera PCB 347 and may be triggered to activate when alight sensor detects a low level of ambient light. When activated, theinfrared LED's 368 may emit infrared light through the enclosure 331and/or the camera 334 out into the ambient environment. The camera 334,which may be configured to detect infrared light, may then capture thelight emitted by the infrared LED's 368 as it reflects off objectswithin the camera's 334 field of view, so that the doorbell 330 canclearly capture images at night (may be referred to as “night vision”).

With continued reference to FIG. 16, the doorbell 330 further comprisesa front PCB 346, which in the illustrated embodiment resides in a lowerportion of the doorbell 330 adjacent a battery 366. The front PCB 346may be secured within the doorbell 330 with any suitable fasteners, suchas screws, or interference connections, adhesives, etc. The front PCB346 comprises various components that enable the functionality of theaudio and light components, as further described below. The battery 366may provide power to the doorbell 330 components while receiving powerfrom the spring contacts 340, thereby engaging in a trickle-chargemethod of power consumption and supply. Alternatively, the doorbell 330may draw power directly from the spring contacts 340 while relying onthe battery 366 only when the spring contacts 340 are not providing thepower necessary for all functions. Still further, the battery 366 maycomprise the sole source of power for the doorbell 330. In suchembodiments, the spring contacts 340 may not be connected to a source ofpower. When the battery 366 is depleted of its charge, it may berecharged, such as by connecting a power source to the connector 360.

With continued reference to FIG. 16, the doorbell 330 further comprisesa power PCB 348, which in the illustrated embodiment resides behind thecamera PCB 347. The power PCB 348 may be secured within the doorbell 330with any suitable fasteners, such as screws, or interferenceconnections, adhesives, etc. The power PCB 348 comprises variouscomponents that enable the functionality of the power and device-controlcomponents, as further described below.

With continued reference to FIG. 16, the doorbell 330 further comprisesa communication module 364 coupled to the power PCB 348. Thecommunication module 364 facilitates communication with client devicesin one or more remote locations, as further described below. Theconnector 360 may protrude outward from the power PCB 348 and extendthrough a hole in the back plate 339. The doorbell 330 further comprisespassive infrared (PIR) sensors 344, which are secured on or within a PIRsensor holder 343, and the assembly resides behind the lens 332. In someembodiments, the doorbell 330 may comprise three PIR sensors 344, asfurther described below, but in other embodiments any number of PIRsensors 344 may be provided. The PIR sensor holder 343 may be secured tothe doorbell 330 with any suitable fasteners, such as screws, orinterference connections, adhesives, etc. The PIR sensors 344 may be anytype of sensor capable of detecting and communicating the presence of aheat source within their field of view. Further, alternative embodimentsmay comprise one or more motion sensors either in place of or inaddition to the PIR sensors 344. The motion sensors may be configured todetect motion using any methodology, such as a methodology that does notrely on detecting the presence of a heat source within a field of view.

FIG. 17 is an exploded view of the doorbell 330 and the mounting bracket337 according to an aspect of the present embodiments. The mountingbracket 337 is configured to be mounted to a mounting surface (notshown) of a structure, such as a home or an office. FIG. 17 shows thefront side 337F of the mounting bracket 337. The mounting bracket 337 isconfigured to be mounted to the mounting surface such that the back side337B thereof faces the mounting surface. In certain embodiments, themounting bracket 337 may be mounted to surfaces of various composition,including, without limitation, wood, concrete, stucco, brick, vinylsiding, aluminum siding, etc., with any suitable fasteners, such asscrews, or interference connections, adhesives, etc. The doorbell 330may be coupled to the mounting bracket 337 with any suitable fasteners,such as screws, or interference connections, adhesives, etc.

With continued reference to FIG. 17, the illustrated embodiment of themounting bracket 337 includes the terminal screws 338. The terminalscrews 338 are configured to receive electrical wires adjacent themounting surface of the structure upon which the mounting bracket 337 ismounted, so that the doorbell 330 may receive electrical power from thestructure's electrical system. The terminal screws 338 are electricallyconnected to electrical contacts 377 of the mounting bracket. If poweris supplied to the terminal screws 338, then the electrical contacts 377also receive power through the terminal screws 338. The electricalcontacts 377 may comprise any suitable conductive material, including,without limitation, copper, and may protrude slightly from the face ofthe mounting bracket 337 so that they may mate with the spring contacts340 located on the back plate 339.

With continued reference to FIG. 17, the mounting bracket 337 furthercomprises a bracket PCB 349. The bracket PCB 349 is situated outside thedoorbell 330, and is therefore configured for various sensors thatmeasure ambient conditions, such as an accelerometer 350, a barometer351, a humidity sensor 352, and a temperature sensor 353 (FIG. 18). Thefunctions of these components are discussed in more detail below. Thebracket PCB 349 may be secured to the mounting bracket 337 with anysuitable fasteners, such as screws, or interference connections,adhesives, etc.

With continued reference to FIG. 17, the faceplate 335 may extend fromthe bottom of the doorbell 330 up to just below the camera 334, andconnect to the back plate 339 as described above. The lens 332 mayextend and curl partially around the side of the doorbell 330. Theenclosure 331 may extend and curl around the side and top of thedoorbell 330, and may be coupled to the back plate 339 as describedabove. The camera 334 may protrude slightly through the enclosure 331,thereby giving it a wider field of view. The mounting bracket 337 maycouple with the back plate 339 such that they contact each other atvarious points in a common plane of contact, thereby creating anassembly including the doorbell 330 and the mounting bracket 337. Thecouplings described in this paragraph, and elsewhere, may be secured by,for example and without limitation, screws, interference fittings,adhesives, or other fasteners. Interference fittings may refer to a typeof connection where a material relies on pressure and/or gravity coupledwith the material's physical strength to support a connection to adifferent element.

FIG. 18 is a top view and FIG. 19 is a front view of a passive infraredsensor assembly 179 including the lens 132, the passive infrared sensorholder 143, the passive infrared sensors 144, and a flexible powercircuit 145. The passive infrared sensor holder 143 is configured tomount the passive infrared sensors 144 facing out through the lens 132at varying angles, thereby allowing the passive infrared sensor 144field of view to be expanded to 180° or more and also broken up intovarious zones, as further described below. The passive infrared sensorholder 143 may include one or more faces 178, including a center face178C and two side faces 178S to either side of the center face 178C.With reference to FIG. 19, each of the faces 178 defines an opening 181within or on which the passive infrared sensors 144 may be mounted. Inalternative embodiments, the faces 178 may not include openings 181, butmay instead comprise solid flat faces upon which the passive infraredsensors 144 may be mounted. Generally, the faces 178 may be any physicalstructure capable of housing and/or securing the passive infraredsensors 144 in place.

With reference to FIG. 18, the passive infrared sensor holder 143 may besecured to the rear face of the lens 132. The flexible power circuit 145may be any material or component capable of delivering power and/or datato and from the passive infrared sensors 144, and may be contoured toconform to the non-linear shape of the passive infrared sensor holder143. The flexible power circuit 145 may connect to, draw power from,and/or transmit data to and from, the power printed circuit board 148.

FIG. 20 is a top view of the passive infrared sensor assembly 179illustrating the fields of view of the passive infrared sensors 144. Inthe illustrated embodiment, the side faces 178S of the passive infraredsensor holder 143 are angled at 55° facing outward from the center face178C, and each passive infrared sensor 144 has a field of view of 110°.However, these angles may be increased or decreased as desired. Zone 1is the area that is visible only to a first one of the passive infraredsensors 144-1. Zone 2 is the area that is visible only to the firstpassive infrared sensor 144-1 and a second one of the passive infraredsensors 144-2. Zone 3 is the area that is visible only to the secondpassive infrared sensor 144-2. Zone 4 is the area that is visible onlyto the second passive infrared sensor 144-2 and a third one of thepassive infrared sensors 144-3. Zone 5 is the area that is visible onlyto the third passive infrared sensor 144-3. In some embodiments, thedoorbell 130 may be capable of determining the direction that an objectis moving based upon which zones are triggered in a time sequence.

FIG. 21 is a functional block diagram of the components within or incommunication with the doorbell 330, according to an aspect of thepresent embodiments. As described above, the bracket PCB 349 maycomprise an accelerometer 350, a barometer 351, a humidity sensor 352,and a temperature sensor 353. The accelerometer 350 may be one or moresensors capable of sensing motion and/or acceleration. The barometer 351may be one or more sensors capable of determining the atmosphericpressure of the surrounding environment in which the bracket PCB 349 maybe located. The humidity sensor 352 may be one or more sensors capableof determining the amount of moisture present in the atmosphericenvironment in which the bracket PCB 349 may be located. The temperaturesensor 353 may be one or more sensors capable of determining thetemperature of the ambient environment in which the bracket PCB 349 maybe located. As described above, the bracket PCB 349 may be locatedoutside the housing of the doorbell 330 so as to reduce interferencefrom heat, pressure, moisture, and/or other stimuli generated by theinternal components of the doorbell 330.

With further reference to FIG. 21, the bracket PCB 349 may furthercomprise terminal screw inserts 354, which may be configured to receivethe terminal screws 338 and transmit power to the electrical contacts377 on the mounting bracket 337 (FIG. 17). The bracket PCB 349 may beelectrically and/or mechanically coupled to the power PCB 348 throughthe terminal screws 338, the terminal screw inserts 354, the springcontacts 340, and the electrical contacts 377. The terminal screws 338may receive electrical wires located at the surface to which thedoorbell 330 is mounted, such as the wall of a building, so that thedoorbell can receive electrical power from the building's electricalsystem. Upon the terminal screws 338 being secured within the terminalscrew inserts 354, power may be transferred to the bracket PCB 349, andto all of the components associated therewith, including the electricalcontacts 377. The electrical contacts 377 may transfer electrical powerto the power PCB 348 by mating with the spring contacts 340.

With further reference to FIG. 21, the front PCB 346 may comprise alight sensor 355, one or more light-emitting components, such as LED's356, one or more speakers 357, and a microphone 358. The light sensor355 may be one or more sensors capable of detecting the level of ambientlight of the surrounding environment in which the doorbell 330 may belocated. LED's 356 may be one or more light-emitting diodes capable ofproducing visible light when supplied with power. The speakers 357 maybe any electromechanical device capable of producing sound in responseto an electrical signal input. The microphone 358 may be anacoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor capable of converting soundwaves into an electrical signal. When activated, the LED's 356 mayilluminate the light pipe 336 (FIG. 14). The front PCB 346 and allcomponents thereof may be electrically coupled to the power PCB 348,thereby allowing data and/or power to be transferred to and from thepower PCB 348 and the front PCB 346.

The speakers 357 and the microphone 358 may be coupled to the cameraprocessor 370 through an audio CODEC 361. For example, the transfer ofdigital audio from the user's client device 114 and the speakers 357 andthe microphone 358 may be compressed and decompressed using the audioCODEC 361, coupled to the camera processor 370. Once compressed by audioCODEC 361, digital audio data may be sent through the communicationmodule 364 to the network 112, routed by one or more servers 118, anddelivered to the user's client device 114. When the user speaks, afterbeing transferred through the network 112, digital audio data isdecompressed by audio CODEC 361 and emitted to the visitor via thespeakers 357.

With further reference to FIG. 21, the power PCB 348 may comprise apower management module 362, a microcontroller 363 (may also be referredto as “processor,” “CPU,” or “controller”), the communication module364, and power PCB non-volatile memory 365. In certain embodiments, thepower management module 362 may comprise an integrated circuit capableof arbitrating between multiple voltage rails, thereby selecting thesource of power for the doorbell 330. The battery 366, the springcontacts 340, and/or the connector 360 may each provide power to thepower management module 362. The power management module 362 may haveseparate power rails dedicated to the battery 366, the spring contacts340, and the connector 360. In one aspect of the present disclosure, thepower management module 362 may continuously draw power from the battery366 to power the doorbell 330, while at the same time routing power fromthe spring contacts 340 and/or the connector 360 to the battery 366,thereby allowing the battery 366 to maintain a substantially constantlevel of charge. Alternatively, the power management module 362 maycontinuously draw power from the spring contacts 340 and/or theconnector 360 to power the doorbell 330, while only drawing from thebattery 366 when the power from the spring contacts 340 and/or theconnector 360 is low or insufficient. Still further, the battery 366 maycomprise the sole source of power for the doorbell 330. In suchembodiments, the spring contacts 340 may not be connected to a source ofpower. When the battery 366 is depleted of its charge, it may berecharged, such as by connecting a power source to the connector 360.The power management module 362 may also serve as a conduit for databetween the connector 360 and the microcontroller 363. Still further,the battery 366 may comprise the sole source of power for the doorbell330. In such embodiments, the spring contacts 340 may not be connectedto a source of power. When the battery 366 is depleted of its charge, itmay be recharged, such as by connecting a power source to the connector360.

With further reference to FIG. 21, in certain embodiments themicrocontroller 363 may comprise an integrated circuit including aprocessor core, memory, and programmable input/output peripherals. Themicrocontroller 363 may receive input signals, such as data and/orpower, from the PIR sensors 344, the bracket PCB 349, the powermanagement module 362, the light sensor 355, the microphone 358, and/orthe communication module 364, and may perform various functions asfurther described below. When the microcontroller 363 is triggered bythe PIR sensors 344, the microcontroller 363 may be triggered to performone or more functions. When the light sensor 355 detects a low level ofambient light, the light sensor 355 may trigger the microcontroller 363to enable “night vision,” as further described below. Themicrocontroller 363 may also act as a conduit for data communicatedbetween various components and the communication module 364.

With further reference to FIG. 21, the communication module 364 maycomprise an integrated circuit including a processor core, memory, andprogrammable input/output peripherals. The communication module 364 mayalso be configured to transmit data wirelessly to a remote networkdevice, and may include one or more transceivers (not shown). Thewireless communication may comprise one or more wireless networks, suchas, without limitation, Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth, and/or satellitenetworks. The communication module 364 may receive inputs, such as powerand/or data, from the camera PCB 347, the microcontroller 363, thebutton 333, the reset button 359, and/or the power PCB non-volatilememory 365. When the button 333 is pressed, the communication module 364may be triggered to perform one or more functions. When the reset button359 is pressed, the communication module 364 may be triggered to eraseany data stored at the power PCB non-volatile memory 365 and/or at thecamera PCB memory 369. The communication module 364 may also act as aconduit for data communicated between various components and themicrocontroller 363. The power PCB non-volatile memory 365 may compriseflash memory configured to store and/or transmit data. For example, incertain embodiments the power PCB non-volatile memory 365 may compriseserial peripheral interface (SPI) flash memory.

With further reference to FIG. 21, the camera PCB 347 may comprisecomponents that facilitate the operation of the camera 334. For example,an imager 371 may comprise a video recording sensor and/or a camerachip. In one aspect of the present disclosure, the imager 371 maycomprise a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) array, and maybe capable of recording high definition (e.g., 720p or better) videofiles. A camera processor 370 may comprise an encoding and compressionchip. In some embodiments, the camera processor 370 may comprise abridge processor. The camera processor 370 may process video recorded bythe imager 371 and audio recorded by the microphone 358, and maytransform this data into a form suitable for wireless transfer by thecommunication module 364 to a network. The camera PCB memory 369 maycomprise volatile memory that may be used when data is being buffered orencoded by the camera processor 370. For example, in certain embodimentsthe camera PCB memory 369 may comprise synchronous dynamic random accessmemory (SD RAM). IR LED's 368 may comprise light-emitting diodes capableof radiating infrared light. IR cut filter 367 may comprise a systemthat, when triggered, configures the imager 371 to see primarilyinfrared light as opposed to visible light. When the light sensor 355detects a low level of ambient light (which may comprise a level thatimpedes the performance of the imager 371 in the visible spectrum), theIR LED's 368 may shine infrared light through the doorbell 330 enclosureout to the environment, and the IR cut filter 367 may enable the imager371 to see this infrared light as it is reflected or refracted off ofobjects within the field of view of the doorbell. This process mayprovide the doorbell 330 with the “night vision” function mentionedabove.

One aspect of the present embodiments includes the realization that incurrent audio/video (A/V) recording and communication devices (e.g.,doorbells) other than the present embodiments, automatic exposurecontrols cannot handle multi-exposure image conditions. For example, ifa field of view of a camera includes a darker region and a brighterregion, exposure controls cannot handle more than one part of the sceneor simply the average luminance of the entire scene. With A/V recordingand communication devices, multi-exposure image conditions may be aparticular problem as many A/V recording and communication devices areplaced at a structure's entrance that may be covered, requiring the A/Vrecording and communication device to capture image data of a regionshaded by the covering (i.e. darker region) and a region beyond thecovering (i.e. brighter region). In another scenario, the A/V recordingand communication device may be positioned near an external lightsource, such as a porchlight, which can create relatively bright areasand relatively dark areas. In these types of lighting conditions, ifexposure range is simply increased, the darker region(s) may becomebrighter but the brighter region(s) may become saturated and washed outreducing image quality. On the other hand, if exposure range is simplydecreased, the brighter region(s) may become darker but the darkerregion(s) may become even darker reducing image quality. Further, incurrent A/V recording and communication devices other than the presentembodiments, default exposure controls tend to focus on a center regionof the field of view, usually setting exposure controls for brightdaylight and focusing less on the boundary areas of a scene. However, itmay be more important for A/V recording and communication devices to setexposure controls to capture higher quality image data of a particularperson or object than of the entire scene. The present embodiments solvethese problems by applying exposure settings based on motion detectionand scene conditions. In some embodiments, the A/V recording andcommunication device may detect a foreground object, determine anexternal lighting level associated with the foreground object, and applyat least one exposure control gain setting to configure a camera tocapture image data focused on the foreground object. In someembodiments, the A/V recording and communication device may detect amulti-exposure condition and apply at least one DR setting to configurethe camera to capture image data corrected for the multi-exposure imagecondition. These and other aspects and advantages of the presentembodiments are described in further detail below.

FIG. 22 is a functional block diagram illustrating one embodiment of anA/V recording and communication device 500 according to various aspectsof the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the A/V recording andcommunication device 500 may be used with the system illustrated inFIG. 1. For example, the A/V recording and communication device 500 maytake the place of the A/V recording and communication doorbell 100, ormay be used in conjunction with the A/V recording and communicationdoorbell 100.

With reference to FIG. 22, the A/V recording and communication device500 may comprise a processing module 512 that is operatively connectedto a camera 502, a microphone 504, a speaker 506, and a communicationmodule 508. In various embodiments, the camera 502 may include a digitalimage sensor 503 that detects and conveys image data by convertingvariable attenuation of light waves passing through and/or reflectingoff objects into digital data in a manner well known in the art. In someembodiments, the processing module 512 may also be operatively connectedto a motion sensor 510 such as (but not limited to) the PIR sensors 344,as described above. Further, in alternative embodiments, the ANrecording and communication device 500 may comprise one or more motionsensors 510 either in place of or in addition to motion sensors such asthe PIR sensors 344. The processing module 512 may comprise a processor514, volatile memory 516, and non-volatile memory 518 that includes acamera application 520. In some embodiments, the camera application 520may configure the processor 514 to capture image data 522 with an activeregion and to determine and apply at least one exposure control gainsetting 524 to configure the camera 502 to capture image data 523focused on a foreground object within the active region, as furtherdescribed below. In further embodiments, the camera application 520 mayconfigure the processor 514 to capture test image data 526 having amulti-exposure image condition and to apply at least one dynamicresolution (DR) setting 528 to configure the camera 502 to capture imagedata 530 corrected for the multi-exposure image condition, as furtherdescribed below. In some embodiments, the camera application 520 mayalso configure the processor 514 to apply a temporal noise filter 532 toreduce background noise of corrected image data 530, as furtherdescribed below. In various embodiments, the image data 522, exposurecontrol gain setting(s) 524, focused image data 523, test image data526, DR setting(s) 528, corrected image data 530, and the temporal noisefilter 532 may be stored in the non-volatile memory 518.

With further reference to FIG. 22, the image data 522, 523, 526, 530 maycomprise image sensor data such as (but not limited to) exposure valuesand data regarding pixel values for a particular sized frame. Forexample, a 1920×1080 frame has 1920 rows and 1080 columns with a pixellocated at each intersection of a row and column. Further, each pixelmay have numerical values that correspond to color or chroma component(such as Cb, Cr) and a luma or brightness component (Y). Althoughdifferent methods of pixel valuations exist, YCbCr is a widely usedcolor space coding scheme. Further, image data may comprise convertedimage sensor data for standard image file formats such as (but notlimited to) JPEG, JPEG 2000, TIFF, BMP, or PNG. In addition, image datamay also comprise data related to video, where such data may include(but is not limited to) image sequences, frame rates, and the like.Moreover, image data may include data that is analog, digital,uncompressed, compressed, and/or in vector formats. Image data may takeon various forms and formats as appropriate to the requirements of aspecific application in accordance with the present embodiments. Asdescribed herein, the term “record” may also be referred to as “capture”as appropriate to the requirements of a specific application inaccordance with the present embodiments.

In further reference to FIG. 22, the A/V recording and communicationdevice 500 may assess scene conditions and automatically adjust camera502 settings such as (but not limited to) exposure time, iris/lensaperture, focus, image sensor gain, and various filters. For example,the camera 502 may be configured to capture image data with the activeregion 522 and/or test image data 526 to automatically adjust settingsthrough processes that analyze these measurements and decide on optimalsettings, as further described below. In particular, such processes mayprovide settings and configurations to overcome multi-exposure imageconditions, as further described below.

In further reference to FIG. 22, the communication module 508, maycomprise (but is not limited to) one or more transceivers and/orwireless antennas (not shown) configured to transmit and receivewireless signals. In further embodiments, the communication module 508may comprise (but is not limited to) one or more transceivers configuredto transmit and receive wired and/or wireless signals. In addition, theA/V recording and communication device 500 may be similar in structureand/or function to the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130(FIGS. 3-13) or the A/V recording and communication doorbell 330 (FIGS.14-21). For example, the A/V recording and communication device 500 mayinclude a camera similar (or identical) in structure and/or function tothe camera 154 of the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130 or acamera similar (or identical) in structure and/or function to camera 334of the A/V recording and communication doorbell 330.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 22, the various componentsincluding (but not limited to) the processing module 512 and thecommunication module 508 are represented by separate boxes. Thegraphical representations depicted in FIG. 22 are, however, merelyexamples, and are not intended to indicate that any of the variouscomponents of the A/V recording and communication device 500, arenecessarily physically separate from one another, although in someembodiments they might be. In other embodiments, however, the structureand/or functionality of any or all of the components of the A/Vrecording and communication device 500 may be combined. For example, insome embodiments the communication module 508 and/or the camera 502 mayinclude its own processor, volatile memory, and/or non-volatile memory.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an A/V recording and communicationdevice 500 having a field of view 550 with an external lighting level552 associated with a foreground object 558 according to various aspectsof the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the camera 502 may havea field of view 550 that includes multi-exposure image conditions suchas (but not limited to) where portions of the field of view 550 havediffering external lighting levels. For example, the field of view 550may include a relatively darker portion 552 and a relatively lighterportion 554. In some embodiments, the camera application 520 mayconfigure the processor 514 to capture image data 522 of the field ofview 550, where the field of view 550 includes the active image region556. In addition, the A/V recording and communication device 500 maydetect motion within the field of view 550 using the motion sensor 510and/or the camera 502 and determine the active image region 556 based ona location of the foreground object 558 that caused the motiondetection, as further described below. In various embodiments, thecamera application 520 may configure the processor 514 to determine anexternal lighting level associated with the foreground object 558 andapply at least one exposure control gain setting 524 to capture imagedata 523 focused on the foreground object 558, as further describedbelow. Although a specific field of view having a relatively darkerportion 552 and a relatively lighter portion 554 are illustrated in FIG.23, any of a variety of fields of view including various multi-exposureimage conditions may exist depending on a variety of factors including(but not limited to) the time of day, weather conditions, structures,and/or placement of the A/V recording and communication device 500, suchas, for example, near porchlights, streetlights, etc. Processes fordetecting multi-exposure image conditions and applying settings to thecamera 502 to capture higher quality image data are described in furtherdetail below.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process 400 forcapturing image data focused on a foreground object according to variousaspects of the present disclosure. The process 400 may include detecting(block B402) motion and recording (block B402) video images 522 from thefield of view 550 including the active image region 556 using the camera502. In various embodiments, the motion is caused by one or more objectsthat are moving within the field of view 550 and the motion may bedetected (block B402) using the motion sensor 510 and/or the camera 502.As described above, motion sensor(s) may include (but are not limitedto) PIR sensors 344 that are capable of detecting and communicating thepresence of a heat source within the field of view 550. Further,alternative embodiments may comprise one or more motion sensors 510either in place of or in addition to the PIR sensors 344. The motionsensors may be configured to detect motion using any methodology, suchas a methodology that does not rely on detecting the presence of a heatsource within the field of view 550. In alternative embodiments, motionmay be detected (block B402) by analyzing the image data 522 for changesin pixel values between frames captured of the field of view 550 usingthe camera 502.

In reference to FIG. 24, the process 400 may also include detecting(block B404) the foreground object 558 within the active image region556. In various embodiments, the detected foreground object 558 may havecaused the motion detection (block B402). The process may furtherinclude controlling (block B406) exposure on the foreground object 558in the active image region 556. In some embodiments, the process 400 maycontrol (block B406) exposure on the foreground object 558 bydetermining an external lighting level associated with the foregroundobject 558 using the video images 522 (may also be referred to as imagedata 522) recorded using the camera 502. The external lighting levelassociated with the foreground object 558 may depend on themulti-exposure image condition portion 552, 554 of the field of view 550that the active region 556 may be found within. In various embodiments,the process 400 may further control (block B406) exposure on theforeground object 558 by determining at least one exposure control gainsetting 524 based on the determined external lighting level. In someembodiments, the at least one exposure control gain setting 524 may bedetermined by comparing the determined external lighting levelassociated with the foreground object 558 and a predetermined range ofexternal lighting levels. In some embodiments, the predetermined rangeof external lighting levels may be between a frame average value ofabout 100 and a frame average value of about 140, such as a frameaverage value of about 120. In addition, the at least one exposurecontrol gain setting 524 may include (but not be limited to) an aperturesetting, shutter speed setting, and/or Internal Organization ofStandardization (ISO) setting for the camera 502.

In further reference to FIG. 24, in addition to controlling (block B406)exposure, the process 400 may also include tracking (block B406) theforeground object 558 within the field of view 550 of the camera 502. Insome embodiments, the foreground object 558 may move into a differentmulti-exposure image condition portion 552, 554 of the field of view550, and thus the external lighting level associated with the foregroundobject 558 may change. Thus, by tracking (block B406) the foregroundobject 558, the process 400 may recalibrate the controlling (block B406)of exposure on the foreground object 558 as appropriate to the externallighting level in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.The process 400 may also include applying (block B408) the at least oneexposure control gain setting 524 to configure the camera 502 to captureimage data 523 focused on the foreground object 558. In someembodiments, the focused image data 523 may include at least one framethat includes the foreground object 558 in a higher image quality thanfound in the image data 522 captured using the camera 502 beforeapplying (block B408) the at least one exposure control gain setting524.

FIGS. 25 and 26 are diagrams illustrating the A/V recording andcommunication device 500 having fields of view with examplemulti-exposure image conditions according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure. In reference to FIG. 25, in some embodiments, theA/V recording and communication device 500 may have a field of view 560with a portion 562 that is darker than another portion 564. For example,if the A/V recording and communication device 500 may be placed within acovered porch area (i.e. the darker portion 562) and is aimed beyond theporch area to an area that is exposed to direct sunlight or astreetlight (i.e. the brighter portion 564). Such a multi-exposure imagecondition may result in image data of lower quality where the dark porchis too dark and/or the brighter portion is too bright. Another examplemulti-exposure image condition is illustrated in FIG. 26. In referenceto FIG. 26, the A/V recording and communication device 500 may have afield of view 570 with portions 572, 574 that are darker than a brighterportion 576. Here, the brighter portion 576 is directly in front of theA/V recording and communication device 500, whereas the darker portions572, 574 are on the edges of the field of view 570 of the camera 502. Asdiscussed above, the present embodiments solve the problem of A/Vrecording and communication devices', other than the presentembodiments, inability to handle multi-exposure image conditions.Processes for applying at least one DR setting to configure the camera502 to capture corrected image data 530 for multi-exposure imageconditions are described in further detail below.

FIGS. 27, 27-1, and 27-2 are flowcharts illustrating an embodiment of aprocess for capturing image data 530 corrected for a multi-exposureimage condition according to various aspects of the present disclosure.In reference to FIG. 27, the process 420 may include detecting (blockB422) motion and recording (block B422) video images of a field of view560, 570 using the camera 502. In some embodiments, the recorded (blockB422) video images may be a test image data 526 (FIG. 22) of the fieldof view 560, 570. As described above, the motion may be caused by one ormore objects moving within the field of view 560, 570 and may bedetected (block B422) using the motion sensor 510 and/or the camera 502.The process 420 may also include detecting (block B424) a multi-exposureimage condition in the field of view 560, 570 of the camera 502. Forexample, in the field of view 560 of FIG. 25, the dark portion 562 andthe bright portion 564 create a multi-exposure image condition.Likewise, in the field of view 570 of FIG. 26, the dark portions 572,574 and the bright portion 576 create a multi-exposure image condition.In some embodiments, the multi-exposure image condition may be detected(block B424) by analyzing the test image data 526 for changes in pixelvalues such as (but not limited to) a Y-value associated brightnesswithin a test frame of the test image data 526 captured of the field ofview 560, 570 using the camera 502. In other embodiments, themulti-exposure image condition may be detected (block B424) by selectingthe test frame from the test image data 526 and determining a pixeldistribution value associated with the test frame.

In further reference to FIG. 27, the process 420 may also includeapplying (block B426 and block B428) at least one DR setting 528 (FIG.22) to configure the camera 502 to capture corrected image data 530corrected for the multi-exposure image condition. The process 420 mayinclude applying at least one DR setting 528 by applying (block B426)high dynamic range (HDR) on a frame as illustrated in FIG. 27-1 andfurther described below. The process 420 may also include applying atleast one DR setting 528 by applying (block B428) wide dynamic range(WDR) on a frame as illustrated in FIG. 27-2 and further describedbelow. In various embodiments, the process 420 may apply (block B426 andblock B428) the at least one DR setting 528 if the pixel distributionvalue associated with the test frame is less than a predetermined pixeldistribution threshold. In some embodiments, the predetermined pixeldistribution threshold may be between a frame average value of about 10and a frame average value of about 50, such as a frame average value ofabout 30.

In reference to FIG. 27-1, applying (block B426) HDR on a frame mayinclude a process 430 that includes obtaining (block B432) image datahaving multiple frames with a short and long exposure timing on an imagesensor 503 of the camera 502. For example, the at least one DR setting528 may configure the camera 502 to capture (block B432) image datahaving a first frame with a first exposure range and a second frame witha second exposure range, where the second exposure range does notoverlap with the first exposure range. In various embodiments, thecamera application 520 may configure the processor 514 to combine (blockB436) the first frame with the first exposure range and the second framewith the second exposure range to generate a single HDR frame (may alsobe referred to as corrected image data 530). In some embodiments, theprocess 430 may also include finding (block B434) a motion area toexclude in the single HDR frame. For example, the camera application 520may configure the processor 514 to select (block B434) a correspondingmotion area in the first frame and the second frame to exclude whengenerating (block B436) the single HDR frame.

In reference to FIG. 27-2, applying (block B428) WDR on a frame mayinclude capturing image data having a reference frame with a singleexposure range and performing the process 440. In various embodiments,the process 440 may include calculating (block B442) an averageluminance level and a saturated pixel count corresponding to a number ofsaturated pixels associated with the reference frame. The process 440may also include determining (block B444) if the average luminance levelis less than a predetermined luminance threshold and the saturated pixelcount is more than a predetermined saturated pixels threshold. In someembodiments, the predetermined luminance threshold may be between about80 and about 100, such as about 90. In some embodiments, thepredetermined saturated pixels threshold may be more than about 3% ofthe total number of pixels, such as more than about 5% of the totalnumber of pixels. If the average luminance level is not less than thepredetermined luminance threshold and the saturated pixel count is notmore than the predetermined saturated pixels threshold, then the process440 may return to calculating (block B442) an average luminance leveland a saturated pixel count corresponding to a number of saturatedpixels associated with the next reference frame. However, if the averageluminance level is less than the predetermined luminance threshold andthe saturated pixel count is more than the predetermined saturatedpixels threshold, then the process 440 may include determining (blockB446) a WDR gain setting and applying (block B446) the WDR gain settingon an image sensor 503 of the camera 502.

In further reference to FIG. 27-2, applying (block B446) the WDR gainsetting may configure the camera 502 to capture WDR image data (may alsobe referred to as corrected image data 530). In some embodiments, theprocess 440 may include determining (block B448) whether a backgroundnoise level associated with the WDR image data 530 is above apredetermined noise threshold. If the background noise level is notabove the predetermined noise threshold, then the process 440 may returnto calculating (block B442) an average luminance level and a saturatedpixel count corresponding to a number of saturated pixels associatedwith the next reference frame. However, if the background noise level isabove the predetermined noise threshold, then the process 440 mayinclude applying and/or increasing (block B450) a temporal noise removalfilter 532 applied to the WDR image 530. The process 440 may alsoinclude determining (block B452) whether the WDR image data 530 has amotion artifact level above a predetermined artifact threshold. If theWDR image data 530 has a motion artifact level above the predeterminedartifact threshold, then the process 440 may include reducing (blockB454) the temporal noise filter gain strength. However, if the WDR imagedata 530 has a motion artifact level below (or equal to) thepredetermined artifact threshold, then the process 440 may includeincreasing (block B450) the temporal noise filter gain strength.

As discussed above, the present disclosure provides numerous examples ofmethods and systems including A/V recording and communication doorbells,but the present embodiments are equally applicable for A/V recording andcommunication devices other than doorbells. For example, the presentembodiments may include one or more A/V recording and communicationsecurity cameras instead of, or in addition to, one or more A/Vrecording and communication doorbells. An example A/V recording andcommunication security camera may include substantially all of thestructure and functionality of the doorbell 130, but without the frontbutton 148, the button actuator 228, and/or the light pipe 232.

FIG. 28 is a functional block diagram of a client device 800 on whichthe present embodiments may be implemented according to various aspectsof the present disclosure. The user's client device 114 described withreference to FIG. 1 may include some or all of the components and/orfunctionality of the client device 800. The client device 800 maycomprise, for example, a smartphone.

With reference to FIG. 28, the client device 800 includes a processor802, a memory 804, a user interface 806, a communication module 808, anda dataport 810. These components are communicatively coupled together byan interconnect bus 812. The processor 802 may include any processorused in smartphones and/or portable computing devices, such as an ARMprocessor (a processor based on the RISC (reduced instruction setcomputer) architecture developed by Advanced RISC Machines (ARM).). Insome embodiments, the processor 802 may include one or more otherprocessors, such as one or more conventional microprocessors, and/or oneor more supplementary co-processors, such as math co-processors.

The memory 804 may include both operating memory, such as random accessmemory (RAM), as well as data storage, such as read-only memory (ROM),hard drives, flash memory, or any other suitable memory/storage element.The memory 804 may include removable memory elements, such as aCompactFlash card, a MultiMediaCard (MMC), and/or a Secure Digital (SD)card. In some embodiments, the memory 804 may comprise a combination ofmagnetic, optical, and/or semiconductor memory, and may include, forexample, RAM, ROM, flash drive, and/or a hard disk or drive. Theprocessor 802 and the memory 804 each may be, for example, locatedentirely within a single device, or may be connected to each other by acommunication medium, such as a USB port, a serial port cable, a coaxialcable, an Ethernet-type cable, a telephone line, a radio frequencytransceiver, or other similar wireless or wired medium or combination ofthe foregoing. For example, the processor 802 may be connected to thememory 804 via the dataport 810.

The user interface 806 may include any user interface or presentationelements suitable for a smartphone and/or a portable computing device,such as a keypad, a display screen, a touchscreen, a microphone, and aspeaker. The communication module 808 is configured to handlecommunication links between the client device 800 and other, externaldevices or receivers, and to route incoming/outgoing data appropriately.For example, inbound data from the dataport 810 may be routed throughthe communication module 808 before being directed to the processor 802,and outbound data from the processor 802 may be routed through thecommunication module 808 before being directed to the dataport 810. Thecommunication module 808 may include one or more transceiver modulescapable of transmitting and receiving data, and using, for example, oneor more protocols and/or technologies, such as GSM, UMTS (3GSM), IS-95(CDMA one), IS-2000 (CDMA 2000), LTE, FDMA, TDMA, W-CDMA, CDMA, OFDMA,Wi-Fi, WiMAX, or any other protocol and/or technology.

The dataport 810 may be any type of connector used for physicallyinterfacing with a smartphone and/or a portable computing device, suchas a mini-USB port or an IPHONE®/IPOD® 30-pin connector or LIGHTNING®connector. In other embodiments, the dataport 810 may include multiplecommunication channels for simultaneous communication with, for example,other processors, servers, and/or client terminals.

The memory 804 may store instructions for communicating with othersystems, such as a computer. The memory 804 may store, for example, aprogram (e.g., computer program code) adapted to direct the processor802 in accordance with the present embodiments. The instructions alsomay include program elements, such as an operating system. Whileexecution of sequences of instructions in the program causes theprocessor 802 to perform the process steps described herein, hard-wiredcircuitry may be used in place of, or in combination with,software/firmware instructions for implementation of the processes ofthe present embodiments. Thus, the present embodiments are not limitedto any specific combination of hardware and software.

FIG. 29 is a functional block diagram of a general-purpose computingsystem on which the present embodiments may be implemented according tovarious aspects of present disclosure. The computer system 900 mayexecute at least some of the operations described above. The computersystem 900 may be embodied in at least one of a personal computer (alsoreferred to as a desktop computer) 900A, a portable computer (alsoreferred to as a laptop or notebook computer) 900B, and/or a server900C. A server is a computer program and/or a machine that waits forrequests from other machines or software (clients) and responds to them.A server typically processes data. The purpose of a server is to sharedata and/or hardware and/or software resources among clients. Thisarchitecture is called the client-server model. The clients may run onthe same computer or may connect to the server over a network. Examplesof computing servers include database servers, file servers, mailservers, print servers, web servers, game servers, and applicationservers. The term server may be construed broadly to include anycomputerized process that shares a resource to one or more clientprocesses.

The computer system 900 may include at least one processor 910, memory920, at least one storage device 930, and input/output (I/O) devices940. Some or all of the components 910, 920, 930, 940 may beinterconnected via a system bus 950. The processor 910 may be single- ormulti-threaded and may have one or more cores. The processor 910 mayexecute instructions, such as those stored in the memory 920 and/or inthe storage device 930. Information may be received and output using oneor more I/O devices 940.

The memory 920 may store information, and may be a computer-readablemedium, such as volatile or non-volatile memory. The storage device(s)930 may provide storage for the system 900, and may be acomputer-readable medium. In various aspects, the storage device(s) 930may be a flash memory device, a hard disk device, an optical diskdevice, a tape device, or any other type of storage device.

The I/O devices 940 may provide input/output operations for the system900. The I/O devices 940 may include a keyboard, a pointing device,and/or a microphone. The I/O devices 940 may further include a displayunit for displaying graphical user interfaces, a speaker, and/or aprinter. External data may be stored in one or more accessible externaldatabases 960.

The features of the present embodiments described herein may beimplemented in digital electronic circuitry, and/or in computerhardware, firmware, software, and/or in combinations thereof. Featuresof the present embodiments may be implemented in a computer programproduct tangibly embodied in an information carrier, such as amachine-readable storage device, and/or in a propagated signal, forexecution by a programmable processor. Embodiments of the present methodsteps may be performed by a programmable processor executing a programof instructions to perform functions of the described implementations byoperating on input data and generating output.

The features of the present embodiments described herein may beimplemented in one or more computer programs that are executable on aprogrammable system including at least one programmable processorcoupled to receive data and/or instructions from, and to transmit dataand/or instructions to, a data storage system, at least one inputdevice, and at least one output device. A computer program may include aset of instructions that may be used, directly or indirectly, in acomputer to perform a certain activity or bring about a certain result.A computer program may be written in any form of programming language,including compiled or interpreted languages, and it may be deployed inany form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component,subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment.

Suitable processors for the execution of a program of instructions mayinclude, for example, both general and special purpose processors,and/or the sole processor or one of multiple processors of any kind ofcomputer. Generally, a processor may receive instructions and/or datafrom a read only memory (ROM), or a random access memory (RAM), or both.Such a computer may include a processor for executing instructions andone or more memories for storing instructions and/or data.

Generally, a computer may also include, or be operatively coupled tocommunicate with, one or more mass storage devices for storing datafiles. Such devices include magnetic disks, such as internal hard disksand/or removable disks, magneto-optical disks, and/or optical disks.Storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying computer programinstructions and/or data may include all forms of non-volatile memory,including for example semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM,EEPROM, and flash memory devices, magnetic disks such as internal harddisks and removable disks, magneto-optical disks, and CD-ROM and DVD-ROMdisks. The processor and the memory may be supplemented by, orincorporated in, one or more ASICs (application-specific integratedcircuits).

To provide for interaction with a user, the features of the presentembodiments may be implemented on a computer having a display device,such as an LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, for displayinginformation to the user. The computer may further include a keyboard, apointing device, such as a mouse or a trackball, and/or a touchscreen bywhich the user may provide input to the computer.

The features of the present embodiments may be implemented in a computersystem that includes a back-end component, such as a data server, and/orthat includes a middleware component, such as an application server oran Internet server, and/or that includes a front-end component, such asa client computer having a graphical user interface (GUI) and/or anInternet browser, or any combination of these. The components of thesystem may be connected by any form or medium of digital datacommunication, such as a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks may include, for example, a LAN (local areanetwork), a WAN (wide area network), and/or the computers and networksforming the Internet.

The computer system may include clients and servers. A client and servermay be remote from each other and interact through a network, such asthose described herein. The relationship of client and server may ariseby virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers andhaving a client-server relationship to each other.

The above description presents the best mode contemplated for carryingout the present embodiments, and of the manner and process of practicingthem, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable anyperson skilled in the art to which they pertain to practice theseembodiments. The present embodiments are, however, susceptible tomodifications and alternate constructions from those discussed abovethat are fully equivalent. Consequently, the present invention is notlimited to the particular embodiments disclosed. On the contrary, thepresent invention covers all modifications and alternate constructionscoming within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Forexample, the steps in the processes described herein need not beperformed in the same order as they have been presented, and may beperformed in any order(s). Further, steps that have been presented asbeing performed separately may in alternative embodiments be performedconcurrently. Likewise, steps that have been presented as beingperformed concurrently may in alternative embodiments be performedseparately.

What is claimed is:
 1. An audio/video (A/V) recording and communicationdevice, comprising: a camera configured to capture image data of aforeground object within a field of view of the camera; a communicationmodule; and a processing module operatively connected to the camera andto the communication module, the processing module comprising: aprocessor; and a camera application, wherein the camera applicationconfigures the processor to: detect motion within the field of view ofthe camera, wherein the field of view includes an active image region;capture image data of the field of view, including the active imageregion, using the camera; detect the foreground object in the activeimage region of the field of view and determine an external lightinglevel associated with the foreground object; determine at least oneexposure control gain setting based on the determined external lightinglevel; and apply the at least one exposure control gain setting toconfigure the camera to capture image data focused on the foregroundobject.
 2. The A/V recording and communication device of claim 1,further comprising a motion sensor configured to detect the motionwithin the field of view of the camera.
 3. The A/V recording andcommunication device of claim 1, wherein the camera application furtherconfigures the processor to detect the motion within the field of viewof the camera using the camera.
 4. The A/V recording and communicationdevice of claim 1, wherein the camera application further configures theprocessor to track the foreground object within the field of view usingthe camera.
 5. The A/V recording and communication device of claim 1,wherein the camera application further configures the processor todetermine the external lighting level associated with the foregroundobject using the image data captured using the camera.
 6. The A/Vrecording and communication device of claim 1, wherein the at least oneexposure control gain setting includes an aperture setting.
 7. The A/Vrecording and communication device of claim 1, wherein the at least oneexposure control gain setting includes a shutter speed setting.
 8. TheA/V recording and communication device of claim 1, wherein the at leastone exposure control gain setting includes an ISO (InternationalOrganization of Standardization) setting.
 9. The A/V recording andcommunication device of claim 1, wherein the camera application furtherconfigures the processor to determine the at least one exposure controlgain setting by comparing the determined external lighting level to apredetermined range of external lighting levels.
 10. The A/V recordingand communication device of claim 1, wherein the image data focused onthe foreground object includes at least one frame that includes theforeground object in a higher image quality than found in the image datacaptured using the camera before applying the at least one auto-exposuresetting.
 11. A method for an audio/video (A/V) recording andcommunication device comprising a camera, a communication module, and aprocessing module operatively connected to the camera and to thecommunication module, the method comprising: detecting motion within afield of view of the camera, wherein the field of view includes anactive image region and includes a multi-exposure image condition wherethe field of view includes a first portion having a first externallighting level and a second portion having a second external lightinglevel; capturing image data of the field of view, including the activeimage region, using the camera; detecting a foreground object in theactive image region of the field of view and determining an externallighting level associated with the foreground object; determining atleast one exposure control gain setting based on the determined externallighting level; and applying the at least one exposure control gainsetting to configure the camera to capture image data focused on theforeground object.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the A/V recodingand communication device further comprises a motion sensor configured todetect the motion within the field of view of the camera.
 13. The methodof claim 11, further comprising detecting the motion within the field ofview of the camera using the camera.
 14. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising tracking the foreground object within the field of view usingthe camera.
 15. The method of claim 11, further comprising determiningthe external lighting level associated with the foreground object usingthe image data captured using the camera.
 16. The method of claim 11,wherein the at least one exposure control gain setting includes anaperture setting.
 17. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least oneexposure control gain setting includes a shutter speed setting.
 18. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the at least one exposure control gainsetting includes an ISO (International Organization of Standardization)setting.
 19. The method of claim 11, further comprising determining theat least one exposure control gain setting by comparing the determinedexternal lighting level to a predetermined range of external lightinglevels.
 20. The method of claim 11, wherein the image data focused onthe foreground object includes at least one frame that includes theforeground object in a higher image quality than found in the image datacaptured using the camera before applying the at least one auto-exposuresetting.